The Lighthouse Beacon of Freedom
by Pyeknu
Summary: Sequel to Phoenix From the Ashes, continuing from A Nice Quiet Place. Mizuho and the Shiroiwa girls, joined by their male classmates and Shōgo's old classmates from Kōbe, are moving to settle in Tomobiki. Sadly, a growing reaction against the Avalonians in the many hidden societies of Earth now move against Mizuho's and Satomi's lover, led by veterans of the American Civil War!
1. A Beacon in the Fog

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **Aboard the Avalon bioroid factory (marooned on Phentax Twelve), inside Gestation Tower #98, Wednesday 17 February 2010 (Japan time: Two hours after midnight)...**_

" _ **DISOBEDIENT ROBOT! GIVE THAT BACK!**_ "

An inhuman roar escaped the shapely teenage woman in the dark grey, full-sleeve gestation suit as she spun around, the two metre-long staff in her hand swinging with her to allow its glowing crystal head the size of a human skull to point at the wide-eyed elderly man trying to level some sort of pistol on her. Before he could come close to locking his weapon on target, the staff's crystal glowed bright white for a second before a bolt of energy lashed out to rip into his body just below his heart. A wild shriek escaped him as his body literally BURNED UP from inside out, leaving nothing behind but ashes.

Silence fell...save for the clatter of the man's weapon as it fell to the deck nearby. Not to mention the frightened sobs from the young man cowering close to the sliding double doors leading into this circular room...and the gasped breaths from the young woman who had — in her mind — been standing not seconds before in the middle of her hastily-made magical seal on Oki-shima, praying to her Master for His help to survive the most horrid thing ever devised by man to bring harm to his fellow man.

 _The Program_.

Taking a deep breath as she felt a surge of raw power flood her from the strange bulky yet surprisingly light to her touch device now in her hands, Inada Mizuho straightened herself as she moved to look around. She was quick to recognize several things that clearly marked this odd place as some sort of laboratory. Even more so — much to the young woman's total horror — there were man-sized cylindrical tubes made of some thick type of glass...and each of them was mounted on top of machines that were as large as the family trunk her parents had in their bedroom back in Shiroiwa. Power conduits led from each chamber to heavy-duty wall sockets in the smooth curved bulkhead lining all sides of this room.

To Mizuho's complete outrage, all her female classmates were in twenty of those tubes.

Nine other tubes were empty.

And there was one tube that was on its side, the bottom end open.

No doubt, she realized, that had been where SHE had been placed.

But why...?

What in Fate's name WAS this evil place...?

Why...?!

WHY?!

 _ **Do not be afraid, Controller.**_

Mizuho perked on hearing that powerful male voice echo in her ears and in her mind. A strangled gasp escaped the young man nearby, making Mizuho's pale blue eyes snap over to gaze intently at him for a second before she looked up at the deckhead, noting this place was about double the height of any interior space she had been in before.

 _ **None will harm you. As you are now my Controller, I will not allow it.**_

Mizuho blinked, her eyes then focusing on the glowing crystal at one end of the strange staff she held in her hand. It had noticeably pulsed when those words had echoed in her ears. "Master...?" she gasped, her eyes tearing with delight.

 _ **No, Controller Inada Mizuho. I am known as the Staff of Gihan. It was my power that brought the souls of you and all your classmates through the Veil of the Te'a from your time period and dimension of birth in the Multiverse to this place and time that you have just awoken in. Also, I was used to scan your old body's genetic structures to allow the body you are now inhabiting to be as close of a clone as this bioroid factory you now stand on can create.**_

"'Bioroid'...?"

Mizuho's head snapped over. "Satomi!"

She then walked over to scan the computer terminal-like apparatus at the base of the tube holding Noda Satomi. Gazing at it, Mizuho blinked as she stared at the controls for a moment — which were marked not only in Japanese kana and kanji but strange square glyph-like symbols that made no sense to her whatsoever — before she snarled, "How do I release you...?"

 _ **The red button to your left.**_

Mizuho's finger instantly tapped the button. Hydraulics then echoed in the chamber as the tube holding Satomi lowered onto its back before the bottom plate opened with a gentle _hiss!_ Once it was clear, Mizuho placed the Staff aside as she reached into the tube to pull Satomi out. Doing so, she was quick to sense the air pressure that was keeping her classmate suspended away from the walls of the tube. "Are you well, my friend?" Mizuho asked as she reached for Satomi's hand.

" _ **MIZUHO-SAMA! BE CAREFUL! DON'T TOUCH SATOMI-SAMA'S SKIN!**_ "

Both girls gasped in shock on hearing that shouted warning, then they gazed on the young man nearby. Noting he was about their age, they were quick to see that he seemed totally human...save for the elegantly tapered ears peeking out from under the bangs of his shaggy short brown hair. He was also dressed in what appeared to be some type of school gakuran straight from Japan, similar to the style boys who attended Shiroiwa Junior High School wore to classes. He was quite effeminate, almost to the point where he could easily disguise himself as a girl with the right sort of clothing and the right sort of physical posture. Mizuho paused as she gazed intently at him, then she blinked before nodding, reaching in to grasp Satomi's lower arms above the ends of the sleeves of the skin-tight bodysuit both girls now wore. With a pull, Class 3-B's resident brainiac was yanked clear of the tube she had awoken in and back on her feet. "Dōmo, Mizuho-chan!"

"No need for thanks, my friend," Mizuho stated as she reached for the Staff, then she headed over to the tube holding one of the two girls in her class whom she cared for most of all, Etō Megumi. "Do you understand what this device said just now?"

"I think so," Satomi said as she reached over to the folded pair of glasses that were on a table nearby. Slipping them on, she relaxed as her vision instantly cleared up, then she moved to tap the control to open the chamber holding Nakagawa Yūka in place. "When we would have died on Oki-shima, that thing snared our souls before we would have passed through that 'veil of the Te'a' it talked about and brought us to this place. These are cloned bodies we have now," she concluded as the tube holding Yūka fell onto its back and opened. "If I understand the word correctly, 'bioroid' is a contraction of 'biological android'."

"We're MACHINES?!" Yūka demanded as Satomi moved to pull her out.

 _ **No, Nakagawa Y**_ _ **ūka**_ , the Staff of Gihan automatically replied as the girls began to busy themselves freeing the others. _**Your new body is as organic as the body you inhabited before Sakaki Y**_ _ **ūko poisoned you in an attempt to kill Nanahara Shūya out of her belief he was a 'demon boy' who threatened all of you in the lighthouse on Oki-shima.**_

Both girls jolted, then Yūka spun around to glare at a now-blushing Sakaki Yūko. " _ **Y**_ _ **ŪKO NO BAKA!**_ " she spat out as Mizuho moved to pull Megumi free of her tube. "What the heck possessed you to do something like _**that**_ to Shūya-kun?!"

"Yūko-sama believed she saw Shūya-sama strike down Tatsumichi-sama..."

Eyes locked on the alien boy nearby for a moment. They were quick to see the sympathy shine in his eyes...though it was currently matched to a horrid realization that he clearly had not been prepared to experience. Considering that, Satomi blinked before she sighed. "You! Sit there!" she ordered as she pointed at the boy, then indicated a nearby chair. "If you somehow know about us — by the sounds of it, you do! — you know what we've just been through!"

In a flash, he was seated and looking very meek. "Hai, Satomi-sama!"

Satomi blinked before she smirked, then she moved to release Kotohiki Kayoko as Yūka moved to release Matsui Chisato and Mizuho finished pulling Megumi out before the former moved to release Minami Kaori and the latter moved to release Tendō Mayumi. "So we're alive and in some freaky laboratory in some other dimension now," Megumi said as she tapped the button to open Mayumi's chamber. As a passionate fan of _Star Trek_ — it was one of the few American shows that had been allowed to be televised in the Greater East Asia Republic thanks to its universal message of peace and brotherhood for all species — she had a good idea what was going on right now. "Why are we here?!" she then asked.

 _ **You were drawn to this dimension because the man the Controller just terminated desired to create as accurate replicas of yourself and your peers as could be done, Et**_ _ **ō Megumi**_ , the Staff dutifully answered. _**The exact phrase the man used before I reached through the Veil of the Te'a to retrieve all your souls was this: 'Program them as if they were the real people themselves'. By what I could interpret of his inner feelings at the time concerning how accurate he wished such replicas to be, I logically concluded the best way to comply with that request was to bring your souls from the very moment in space-time each of you were about to expire and pass through the Te'a to here.**_

"What for?" Satomi asked as she finished pulling Kayoko clear, then she moved to the chamber holding Ogawa Sakura.

 _ **To be companions to a group of young Niphentaxians your age who are fans of what, to them, is a tragic fictional novel, movie and manga series based on your adventure on Oki-shima, Noda Satomi. It is called**_ **Battle Royale** _ **. As you are aware, that is the nickname of the legislation the government of the Greater East Asia Republic passed in the Third Year of the Republic to initiate Combat Experiment Program Sixty-eight.**_

"So they're...really _**them**_?!" the young boy asked.

 _ **That is correct, Geran dai-Farosh.**_

The girls paused as they gazed at him, then Yūka walked over to kneel in front of him, gazing into his dark brown eyes. "So you wanted a bunch of cute girlfriends, right?" she coyly asked as she reached over to tap his nose.

 _ **Be careful in touching him, Nakagawa Y**_ _ **ūka.**_

She paused, stopping herself just in time. "Why?!"

 _ **Your new body possesses considerable psionic capabilities**_ , the Staff explained. _**A tactile form of telepathy and a receptive form of empathy are two such capabilities you possess now. If you actually touch him, you will be able to interpret his thoughts as easily as you can read a book. Further, upon your enduring what is normally referred to as the 'Awakening', you will also develop a subconscious ability to sense the Power of the Te'a within all around you.**_

"And this 'Te'a' is?" Satomi asked as the others moved to get everyone else free.

 _ **The eternal echo of the Power that sundered the Primal Atom thirteen billion years ago and allowed the Multiverse to exist as it is now, Noda Satomi**_ , the Staff answered while the Shiroiwa girls busied themselves. _**The race that created the Avalon bioroid factory we are aboard now and devices such as I believed such a Power was divine in nature. Thus, their term for that Power; it translates in your language as 'That Which Is Above mortal understanding'.**_

"It's like our belief in the Kami, you mean," Kayoko stated as she opened the chamber holding Nakagawa Noriko.

 _ **Correct, Kotohiki Kayoko.**_

"So where are the guys?" Kaori demanded as she moved to release Yahagi Yoshimi from her chamber. "What about them?!"

 _ **This factory has one limitation, Minami Kaori. It can only create female bioroids.**_

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then...

"I just can't imagine any of the guys — even Shō-kun — as GIRLS!" Yūka stated.

People gaped at her — even a wide-eyed Geran — then they laughed...

* * *

 _ **The Lighthouse Beacon of Freedom  
**_ by Fred Herriot

C&C by Rose Ash, Sonic0704 and Rashaan Butler

Anecdotes from Abraham Lincoln derived from _The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations_ (2005), written by Bob Blaisdell.

Based on _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter_ , written by Seth Graham-Smith; _Ikkit_ _ōsen_ , created by Shiozaki Yūji; _Urusei Yatsura_ and _Ranma 1/2_ , created by Takahashi Rumiko; and _Battle Royale_ , created by Takami Kōshun (as interpreted by Taguchi Masayuki and Keith Giffen).

Including characters and situations from _Love Hina_ and _Mah_ _ō Sensei Negima_ , created by Akamatsu Ken; _Koihime Musō_ , created by BaseSon; the works of Tom Clancy; _Forever Knight_ , created by Barney Cohen and James D. Parriott; _Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War_ and its sequels, written by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen; _Shin Seiki Evangelion_ , created by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production; _Sekirei_ , created by Gokurakuin Sakurako; _Hellsing_ , created by Hirano Kōta; _Kōtetsu Tenshi Kurumi_ , created by Kaishaku (Ōta Hitoshi and Shichinohe Terumasa); _Sayonara, Zetsubō-sensei_ , created by Kumeta Kōji; the _Indiana Jones_ franchise, created by George Lucas; _NOëL_ , created by Pioneer LDC; _The Patriot_ , written by Robert Rodat and directed by Roland Emmerich; _Harry Potter_ , created by Joanna K. Rowling; _Dominion_ , created by Shirō Masamune; _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ , created by Joss Whedon; _Highlander_ , created by Gregory Widen; _Stargate SG-1_ , created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner; the combined works of Yamatogawa; and _Bubblegum Crisis_ , created by Youmex.

Sequel to _Phoenix From the Ashes_ by Fred Herriot, which is derived from the fanfic _The Bet: Crippled_ , written by Gregg Sharp. This story also contains characters and situations from the fanfic series _Urusei Yatsura: The Senior Year_ , created by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot.

* * *

 _ **WRITER'S INTRODUCTION**_

 _This story is pretty much the "up to date" version of_ The Children of Oki-shima _, first written in 2012-13 before I began revamping the whole storyline of_ Phoenix From the Ashes _to make it better and delve into a lot more detail during a long period of medical leave that eventually ended with the amputation of my right foot just before Christmas of 2013. The main part of this story begins just days after the end of_ A Nice Quiet Place _; the teaser occurred about 4 1/2 months prior to the start of_ Phoenix From the Ashes _, a day before_ Avalonians at Hinata-sō _begins. This story is a multi-series crossover as you'll note in the credits, but I'm rating this one primarily as a crossover between_ Battle Royale _and_ Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter _. The story after this one will concentrate more on the interaction of the_ Program _players with the cast of_ Sekirei _even if some of those characters appear here. The revamping of this story will affect the_ Wizards and Avalonians _stories I wrote as side-stories to_ Phoenix From the Ashes _; they will be redone. As always, writer's notes appear at the end of each chapter._

* * *

 _ **WARNING**_

 _ **Since I'm including people who have been literally brought forward in time from a dark period in American history, the language some will speak will be offensive. I mean this not as an insult to those who would be offended by such words, but as a demonstration on how much humanity has evolved since the 1860s. Please be advised.**_

* * *

 _ **Her Majesty's Canadian Starship**_ **Haida** _ **(in orbit over southern Ontario), the ship's auditorium, Monday 19 July 2010, middle of the morning watch...**_

"You're a fan of John Williams, Mister Kiriyama?"

Kiriyama Kazuo blinked before he gazed over his shoulder at the smiling drum major of _Haida_ 's in-house band, who just got off watch; even if he was a musician by trade, Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Stuart Colvin still had to perform his duties as a professional sailor when aboard a ship. "I have discovered since my rebirth that his music is quite soothing, Chief Colvin," the most successful player in the Shiroiwa class' run through _The Program_ stated as he swept into the theme for _Star Wars_. "It is a slow discovery for me. Are you aware of the exact circumstances each of us endured before we faced _The Program_?"

"Sped-read the translated manga when we learned about your classmates after Miss Noda and Miss Inada saved Mister Moroboshi in Queenston on Wednesday," the native of Bancroft in southeast Ontario answered. "It's a pity that you didn't get any sort of psychological help after your accident. Never mind what Miss Sōma went through." Feeling the emotionally cold stare this man could unleash on all that attracted his interest fall on him, the thirty-three year veteran of the Canadian Forces smirked. "A pity you're intending to go ashore as soon as possible. You kids need a chance to unwind and relax yourselves."

"That is true," Kazuo stated. "Sadly, our presence here is starting to influence the original crew of this ship in a way Noriko is afraid might cause more harm than good. You'll have noticed all the original crew are now considered 'D' rank among tōshi such as Ataru's sister Hiromi and her lovers. With that comes an increase in martial arts skills and the potential influence of the 'fate of the magatama' that forced Hiromi to persuade her countrymen from Hàn China to become Avalonians. Given how much they have done for us since we came aboard, it is simply proper to impose ourselves on you no more than necessary."

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Kazuo."

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Toshinori."

Colvin looked over his shoulder as the physically shortest of the Shiroiwa boys walked up to the raised stage in the auditorium. In Oda Toshinori's hands was a beautiful replica Stradivarius, personally created for him by his would-be lover Yamaguchi Shiroko before the Hifuto virus that had been used to kill the young teenager from Ziegler's Cove for her "defiance" of the "one true faith" nearly overwhelmed her, forcing Kawada Shōgo to place the poor girl into effective cryogenetic storage until their rescue scant days ago. Mounting the stage, the more handsome fellow — looking on him, Colvin wouldn't definitely describe the scion of one of Shiroiwa's richest families as "froggy" by any sense of the imagination — with the centre-parted brown-black hair and the dark grey eyes bowed politely to his classmate, then moved to take his place. In an instant, the beautiful melody from the piano was augmented by the soulful tunes from the violin, making a rendition of the theme to one of the most popular movie series ever created that even the master composer from a suburb of New York City would admire.

Shaking his head as he watched the two boys go at it, Colvin then perked on sensing someone come into the auditorium. Looking over, he nodded in greetings to Chief Warrant Officer Marc Duchesne, the regimental sergeant-major of the First Battalion of the Canadian Guards and the third senior-ranking non-commissioned member of the combined ship's company. As the silver-haired infantry soldier from Saguenay in eastern Québec sat down in the front row of chairs to listen to the music, Colvin sighed as he turned back to watch the performance. Everyone on _Haida_ was worried about these kids. After the crap they went through in _The Program_ — tagged onto the problems many of them had before they faced the horrid choice of kill or be killed — it would need a whole damned ship's company's worth of psychologists to try to fix it up.

 _ **Without**_ guarantee for success...

* * *

 _ **Atop the ship's hangar, that moment...**_

Cloaked in an energy bubble that kept her alive and warm in the surrounding vacuum, the only Japanese-born Zoroastrian from another dimension could only smile as her metasenses picked up on the beautiful music from the auditorium.

As had been done since the night after she had bonded with the man she loved more than Life itself, Inada Mizuho deliberately kept herself away from Moroboshi Ataru the previous evening to give some of the other women who had selected him as the one who would make them women a chance to sleep with him. Many since the night of their bonding were the emotionally younger gynoids of a group of 242 such beings that Mizuho had brought to Earth nearly a week ago to help protect two effectively orphaned Urusian children from their mad sire, who wanted them dead to ensure his clan wouldn't become "class traitors" and turn against the Imperial Round that had ruled that planet for centuries. Ataru's other lovers were some girls from the Shiroiwa class and a couple of the Kōbe girls who had taken interest in Earth's tag race champion and the last host of the Earth Angel and the second-last emperor of the Latter Hàn. Last night had been Sōma Mitsuko's turn to spend time with a person she definitely rated as a "man"...but Ataru had done something really special not just for the lady known as "Hardcore" in the streets of Shiroiwa, but her would-be boyfriend Takiguchi Yūichirō. With the help of the manga fan's would-be lover from Ziegler's Cove, Naitō Junko, Mitsuko had engaged in a wonderful orgy that sated her chronic need for intercourse...and gave the "doll" side of her nearly-sundered soul the chance to fully make up with Yūichirō after she fatally wounded, then raped him on Oki-shima out of some mistaken belief that having sex with him would keep him alive and at her side. Right now, the quartet of lovers were still asleep in Ataru's cabin a dozen metres to forward and port from Mizuho's current position. Her co-wife Noda Satomi had elected to sleep with one of Ataru's other gynoid lovers, Skelad Lara, in her own guest room.

"Um, ma'am...aren't you cold?"

Mizuho looked right into the small control bubble where the landing signals officer for 448 Space Utility and Support Squadron would position himself to help guide the starship's four Lockheed-Martin CSV-194 Star Flare heavy cargo shuttlecraft for landing and takeoffs. Standing inside the space was a smiling master seaman, one of the reserve marine engineer technicians currently assigned to _Haida_ from H.M.C.S. _Queen_ in Regina, John Fitzpatrick. "I am well, Master John," Mizuho assured him, using the power she inherited from the Staff of Gihan to project her voice through the vacuum into the observation booth. "I just require time to meditate on things I've always watched over since I came to Earth."

"Nothing bad, I hope," the father of two then asked.

"Nay, not yet, but the Dark One is always ready to cause mischief whenever the chance presents itself. I am always watchful."

"What about your boyfriend and girlfriend?" he then asked as he gave her a worried look. "Everyone saw Ataru together with Miss Sōma, Mister Takiguchi and Miss Naitō in the aft wardroom last night. And Miss Noda was with Miss Skelad."

"Satomi and I are aware of what is going on with our husband, good sir. 'Tis an unfortunate yet tolerable aftereffect of what Mitsuko's thrice-accursed stepfather and mother unleashed on her after her brave father was forced to flee for his life after he failed to save his homeroom class from _The Program_ ten years before we all faced that horror. We're rather lucky these days when it comes to Mitsuko's desire for intimacy. These days, she only desires carnal congress _**once**_ a day. After we got over the initial shock of what happened to us back in February, she was as willing to be passionate as Master Shibamata Yōichi's gynoid lovers were to him before my beloved and his sister rescued him from that madness."

John winced. "Damn! Is there any hope for her?!"

Mizuho shrugged. "We're prayerful, sir."

"Aye, ma'am..."

* * *

 _ **The observation lounge, that moment...**_

The Rail-Splitter could only shake his head as he turned his attention away from the conversation his new and wonderful young friend just enjoyed with one of this good ship's many stokers who was performing his engineering rounds.

 _God truly is testing us all..._

Thinking of that, Abraham Lincoln smiled as he reached into his jacket pocket to draw out a small pocket knife that he had kept over the years since an odd day in the 1840s when he had been approached by a stranger and given said knife...and all because he was physically uglier than the one who had the knife in the first place! " _This knife was placed in my hands some years ago with the injunction that I was to keep it until I found a man uglier than myself_ ," he remembered that fellow explaining the gift to him when he spoke of that encounter to his official portrait painter, Francis Carpenter, back in 1864 at the White House. " _I have carried it from that time to this. Allow me to say, sir, that I think you are fairly entitled to the property._ "

"You sure went through some strange things, Mister Lincoln."

Lincoln perked, then he smiled. "Good morning, Miss Shore."

Walking towards him now was a woman in the multi-grey shaded Army Combat Uniform, the insignia of a private in the 202nd Cavalry Regiment of the South Carolina Army National Guard on her jacket. Sitting down beside the man she had once viewed as the devil of all devils and the primary reason she gave up her humanity to become one of the undead in the late autumn of 1862, Dahlia Shore could only shake her head at the bitter irony of it all. The deacon's daughter from Centerville in Anderson County had given up _**everything**_ to fight for Southern freedom from what she saw as Yankee tyranny...but she never suspected until her rebirth as one of the "crystal-bloods" how much "Uncle Abe" had sacrificed himself to see America kept whole in the face of Adam Sewell's mad plan to create a "nation of vampires", sustained with the blood of millions of African slaves.

 _It's no wonder Daddy found the truth of that war so hard to take_ , the raven-haired beauty with the blue-grey eyes sighed as she felt the older man place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Um...Mister Lincoln, there's...well, something..."

"What is it?"

Dally sighed as she gazed out towards the starship's bow. "Back after Chikamauga, I found a North Carolina boy. He'd been gut-shot, too far gone to be even saved our way." She tried not to wince as the waves of guilt that had been surging up from her soul since her body-swap days before nearly threatened to overwhelm her in the face of what had befallen her friends during that time. "As I was comforting him while Belle was trying to find a doctor, he confessed he remembered his ma telling him about a time when she got sick with the typhoid when she was living in Kentucky. How you and your ma cared for her when she was recovering. Bobbie — that's his name, Bobbie Jenkins — always said you were good people." She shook her head as tears flowed down her cheek. "Never wanted to believe anything he said about you, but Bobbie was my age. You didn't want to say anything bad to someone who was about to face the Lord after dying for his state and country. But..."

A sob then took her, making Lincoln draw her into her arms. Footfalls soon echoed from the entrance to the lounge, making the near-immortal former president turn to see Chigusa Takako standing there, a worried look on the track-runner's face. Beside her was the handsome fellow that Takako had long lusted for since the day she had saved him from bullies when they were both children and not yet to face the horrors of _The Program_ : Sugimura Hiroki. Like all the Shiroiwa and Kōbe students now aboard _Haida_ save for Inada Mizuho, they had shed their replica school uniforms and donned the dark blue Canadian Forces naval combat uniform, their epaulettes bare of rank slip-ons and their names in both Rōmaji and kanji on their right breasts. Hiroki himself current held a beautiful durasteel bō staff that had been fashioned for him by one of the Niphentaxians who had restored him to life; he had been practising in the gymnasium when he sensed his new friend go visit the Rail-Splitter. As Takako felt her own eyes tear on sensing how Dally's pure innocence had been totally _**wrecked**_ thanks to the hidden side of America's most tragic war, the young wǔshù master turned his head away to hide his own sympathetic tears.

"You remember the prayer you had Bobbie say when he died?" Lincoln asked.

Dally hiccoughed. "Y-yes..."

"Let's say it together."

The deacon's daughter nodded before both clasped their hands...

 _Now I lay me down to sleep,  
_ _I pray the Lord, my soul to keep,  
_ _If I should die before I wake,  
_ _I pray the Lord, my soul to take..._

Dally shuddered again as pained sobs escaped her, causing Takako to race over to gently embrace her. Lincoln smiled at the track runner while the deacon's daughter wailed nearly-incomprehensible apologies to a whole host of people that she had been made to wrong back in that dark decade, then he shook his head as he stood, moving to give his new friend some room so she could vent out her anger and pain at being used and abused like she had been. Walking over to gaze out into the starry night with the Moon hovering in the near distance, the bright light of the Avalon bioroid factory hovering before the craggy face of Earth's natural satellite, he shook his head as a cauldron of white-hot anger suddenly surged up from deep within his heart. Stunned at the sheer level of fury Dally's suffering just unleashed in him — something he hadn't experienced since the dark years of the Score and Four between his "death" in Ford's Theatre at the hands of John Wilkes Booth in the spring of 1865 and the saving of his very sanity by Dean Raeburn in the foothills of northeast British Columbia in the summer of 1889 — Lincoln gritted his teeth as he focused his mind's eye on an image of the man who had deliberately awoke twenty-four innocent girls from their eternal slumber and forced them into a time that was so different from what they had been used to dealing with.

Halbert Golden.

Lincoln only knew the Welsh vampire who had been a resident of Tennessee before the Civil War by reputation. A rather dapper fellow for one of the undead, he had been a plantation owner with hundreds of slaves that he could feed on virtually at will. He had supported the transformation of Rachel Thornbridge's small troupe of "sidesaddle cavalry" into hidden shock troopers to make the freedom of the Confederacy a reality, having personally interviewed all the girls and given them the full "truth" of what was happening before they were turned. That horrid choice forced on Rachel and her friends ultimately cost thousands of lives in the eighteen months that followed, until the start of the Atlanta Campaign when the president had to order their destruction in the wake of the downfall of Golden's principal and the hidden power behind the Confederacy, the five-millennia old Adam Sewell, just before Gettysburg. Sadly, that was a time when the "other" way of saving a vampire — using mesonium to burn away the poison that had turned a corpse into one of the undead, then flooding the rejuvenated body with new life energy to make one truly live again — was totally unknown...even to the man who had been Lincoln's ultimate saviour, the one responsible for ensuring the legend of the Rail-Splitter would haunt all magical beings in North America to this very day: The twenty-five millennia old master of the ebony shade of mesonium and the man called the "Undying Lord" by all who knew of him, _Rittmeister_ Josef Wilhelm _Freiherr_ von Taserich of Rügen in modern-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Fortunately, being with Dally allowed Lincoln to get a good sense of what Golden looked like...so if the chance came...

A hand gently squeezed his shoulder. Perking, the former president looked over to see Hiroki gaze with concern at him. "It just never seems to end, Mister Sugimura," Lincoln then stated. "The curse of warriors such as we."

"We can survive it in the end, sir," the young wǔshù master advised.

"Hopefully..."

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, that moment (local time: An hour after supper)...**_

"You shouldn't be surprised, Oji-chan. After all the times both you and your wife tore into Ataru for things he never was responsible for or didn't understand what he was doing, you should have expected this to happen."

Hearing that cold admonishment from his son's former girlfriend, Moroboshi Muchi tried not to openly wince. Both he and Miyake Shinobu were relaxing in the new common room set up on the former road allowance of Kita-Teibō 4-dōri, sited to the southeast of the original family home he purchased years ago, shortly after his marriage to Yamaguchi Kinshō. Seated beside Shinobu was Moroboshi Negako, who was giving her last host's father her normal cold, neutral look. "You need not concern yourself anymore about what is happening here, Muchi," the ninjutsu grandmaster evenly declared. "Your continued fretting about things that are no longer your concern is as annoying to Ataru, Hiromi and Tariko as Kinshō's constant verbal abuse has been." As Muchi winced on hearing that, Negako shook her head. "Do not deny it anymore, Muchi. You will not win sympathy from anyone in Tomobiki. If you do not wish to see your job threatened because your employers might consider you a public embarrassment and terminate your employment to prevent scandal, it is best for you and Kinshō to accept what has happened and retire at once to the home you wished to own in Hachiōji." That earned her a shocked squawk. "The news of your new daughters-in-law and their friends is getting out in the public media. The Heavenly Sovereign made it clear that all _Program_ players rescued by Mizuho and Satoko's group are to be welcomed with open arms within Japan. All will be done to make them feel at home here to help them recover and contribute to OUR country, not the country that so readily rejected them all."

Another wince rocked the second-level executive currently employed in one of Japan's larger communication firms, Marubishi and Company, headquartered in Shinjuku. While he had not really got any flak from his co-workers concerning all the insane antics that haunted his son since the day Redet Hensō had come into their lives the previous summer — that was thanks to the subtle two-way "notice me not" field that had been placed around Tomobiki to prevent people from trying to probe too deep into what was going on there, plus stop bouts of xenophobia from unleashing a disaster — the constant fear of being singled out due to what his son got involved in constantly haunted him. While the expulsion of Hensō and her friends from town hadn't backlashed on him badly, his superior Asagaya Hisayo — maternal aunt to Tariko's second bond-mate Hayashi Kanami — had warned him that his superiors were taking note of what others were saying about relations inside the Moroboshi home and were fretting over how it would reflect on Marubishi. If that became an excuse to fire him...!

"If you move to Hachiōji, we will make it clear to your employers that you are doing so out of respect for the feelings of Ataru's bond-mates and their friends given what they recently endured," Negako stated in that eerie way she had when it came to almost literally reading other people's thoughts through their ki signatures. "After all, as I have reported to the Heavenly Sovereign, it became tradition in the Greater East Asia Republic for parents to emotionally pull away from their children when the chance came for said children to participate in _The Program_. Mizuho, Satomi and many others now have negative feelings towards the upkeep of filial piety because of that and will be quite extreme in dealing with potential instances of child abuse they encounter." As Muchi winced again, the ninjutsu grandmaster smiled that icy smile of hers. "Satomi warned me that if you or Kinshō do anything to hurt Ataru even from a distance, she will not hesitate in _**killing**_ you." Seeing him turn stark-white at that, she added, "As you will recall from the manga, Satomi has killed before. She is no stranger to such an act."

As he sputtered in horrified disbelief at that dark threat, Negako's almost-black eyes flicked to her left. That was the signal for the two hidden Kuromoroboshi ninja to sweep in, knock the salaryman unconscious, then whisk him off the property for the final time. Shinobu didn't react as Ataru's father vanished, then she took a deep breath. "Idiot..."

"You are not surprised at this."

Ataru's former girlfriend and the bond-mate to his twin sister shook her head. "Not really." She came back from Connecticut as soon as the news came about Ataru meeting up with _The Program_ players to make sure all was well with him. Tariko and Kanami had refused to come with her. The latter was spending time with her great-grandfather and the former was afraid that she would be distracted too much by the sight of people like Inada Mizuho and Noda Satomi — who were also Tariko's favourite _Battle Royale_ characters! — to think straight around them. By dealing with those people "by proxy" through the bond she shared with Shinobu for the foreseeable future, Tariko hoped she wouldn't make a total fool of herself when she met her new sisters-in-law. "Can't believe I was so damned blind when it came to how they treated Ataru. Why...?"

"Something I have noticed and Mizuho has also taken note of," Negako stated as she waved Shinobu into the old recreation room built weeks before to join the original Moroboshi home to the former guest house now being used by Hiromi and her extended family as their private quarters. "As you will know, there are twenty ley lines that intersect under the Tarōzakura Hill. Because of the mystical confluence of energies that normally gather in this town, spiritual oni were attracted to it as soon as Hensō took up residence here, using her, Jariten, Rei and Damasu as unwilling mortal avatars so they could gain power as all 'divine' beings are want to do. Even with their removal from Tomobiki, those oni and other such creatures are still seeking to influence things here. Your body-swap effectively broke their influence over you, as it did for all your female peers in Class 2-4. Because of that, we have instances like Shūtarō's behaviour once he learned of Ataru's bonding on Thursday morning."

"Mizuho-san's killed a demon already when he confronted the monster that hurt all the people in Negi Springfield-sensei's home village back in Wales," Shinobu noted. "The oni and everything else are scared of her coming here."

"Indeed. In addition to that, there is Mujaki to concern ourselves with."

That made the other woman gape. "Mujaki?! That dream demon that came to class once?!"

"The same. He met with Hensō a week before the incident with Elle at a local aquarium, then began to desire to give her a 'good' dream. Since she was 'taken away' from Tomobiki thanks to Ataru, he has been manipulating the dreams of others to make them try to lash out at him for his 'hurting' Hensō like that. Naturally, that will quickly earn him Mizuho's wrath."

Shinobu stared at her, then she moaned. "Since I'm an Avalonian, the way I dream is directly influenced by the Dreamscape. Ataru's an adopted Avalonian now by blood-transfusion thanks to Tariko and he has the Cyborg's power as well. Mujaki can't strike at him or any of us, so he's going through the guys to make them behave like they did before we found out the truth about Hensō." She shook her head. "Dear God, is this EVER going to end?! Why do things like that happen to us?!"

"It will eventually end, Shinobu," Negako assured her. "That masking screen that kept the world's attention away from Tomobiki also affected the ley lines and how they transmit magical energy across Earth, which made the incidents that befell this town during Hensō's stay here more acute than they would have been under normal circumstances. However, with their removal in January after you were transported back to Earth by Kuohu and Kyekkyek, the ley lines are healing. Eventually, beings like Mujaki will move on elsewhere. If Mizuho does not kill him as she did Wilhelm Herrman in Mahora."

Shinobu looked sick. "They don't need more blood on their hands, Negako-san!"

"Indeed, they do not. But Mizuho is very adamant when it comes to seeking out and destroying all forms of druj that she learns of per the tenets of her faith. Given how much she protected her peers since February, Noriko and her friends will support Mizuho's efforts to that end." Negako then smiled as she glanced to the northwest. "Enter, Yūko!"

"Gomen nasai, Negako-sensei!"

Shinobu blinked in surprise on noting that the ninjutsu grandmaster hadn't reacted whatsoever to being called by that honorific, then she looked over to see a cute and slender girl a little shorter than her, possessing stringy dark brown hair and nearly black eyes, walk in from the direction of the family dōjō. Back in her replica seifuku that had been prepared for her by Fujino Shigeki's friends, Sakaki Yūko bowed deeply to the ninjutsu grandmaster. "I'm sorry to intrude on you."

"You volunteered to begin the necessary requisitioning of supplies?"

"Hai!" the daughter of one of Shiroiwa's town councillors said as she leaned down to kiss Negako on the cheek, then she sat down beside her. "Yūka-chan will be here later today to make sure all the food Shinobu-san and her friends brought in is properly stored so we can enjoy it. We still have to get all the stuff we've accumulated out of Tower #98 so that others on the factory can use it...even if we'll be using the gestation rooms to create the new bodies for all the other players."

"Starting with the male members of Shōgo's old class, I believe."

Yūko nodded. "That was the plan. After we get them over here and help them recover from their 'episode', we'll go after Mitsuko's cousin's class from Ritsurin, then we'll create a lottery to randomly pick classes to bring them over."

Watching her speak of this, Shinobu could only shake her head at what the younger girl was so casually talking about. Much that she herself was an Avalonian and had the full ability to do soul-shifting if or when she needed to do such, the idea of moving the living souls of over a HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE across the dimensional barriers and forward in time from the universe of the Greater East Asia Republic would cause anyone to pause and gape in disbelief. Yes, it was the right thing to do given how much all those poor kids had been literally thrown into a voracious meat-grinder that just kept going without any clear reason save "keeping up the scare" and ensuring none would move to overthrow the "harmonious republic", but...!

Thinking on that old tactical maxim from one of the American Civil War's most successful generals on the Southern side, Shinobu then shook her head as she recalled the OTHER little wrinkle now in everyone's life...

* * *

 _ **H**_ _ **ōya Airport Memorial Park (on the border between Tomobiki and Musashino, 2500 metres south of the Moroboshi home), that moment...**_

"You sure we're safe here, Belle?! We're in the middle of a city that doesn't seem to want to END! I think we should be in the mountains west of here than setting up a camp in the middle of all this damned noise!"

Hearing that complaint from the second lieutenant of the Anderson County Amazons, the second-in-command of the vampire "sidesaddle cavalry company" that had been the hidden nightmare of the Western Theatre of the American Civil War could only grin as she gazed through a beautiful pair of binoculars towards the curious sight of a _**lighthouse**_ of all things sticking up from the cityscape north of their position, no where close to any seashore. The group of four South Carolinian teenagers had set up their camp in the memorial park set aside to pay tribute to Hōya Air Base, a deactivated United States Air Force landing field that had taken up half the territory of modern Tomobiki before the Yankees withdrew in 1954 and turned the property to the local government for re-development. Outside of the slightly-rectangular grid pattern in the streets that still marked Tomobiki, there was no sign of the original airfield; when the Mendō and Mizunokōji families moved back into their ancestral home town, they constructed new private airport facilities on the western and northern limits of Tomobiki bordering Higashikurume and Niiza respectively. The park usually was the place students from Butsumetsu High School and the Butsumetsu Girls Middle and High School often frequented to relax and make out with lovers; since it was the start of summer vacation, the park was pretty much empty. Perfect to allow four daywalker veterans of America's most bloody war to camp out and scout the terrain before they would make their move to destroy the cruel monster who had unleashed the crystal-bloods on all of Earth.

"The people going to the schools near this park are enjoying their summer break, Tabitha," Annabelle Maxwell stated as she gave Tabitha Walters a knowing look. "They're more interested spending time with friends in those large market buildings in the centre of this town and other places than coming here. As long as we keep the ward stones charged, we'll be safe here."

Hearing that observation from the deacon's daughter from Pendleton, the stagecoach owner's daughter from Townville snorted. "Still don't like it," she snarled out as she crossed her arms.

Belle's light grey eyes twinkled in delight before she slipped back on her reading glasses; the new body she used had been created by that wonderful man from Georgia to magically replicate her original body to the last detail, including the shortsightedness she normally possessed. Grateful that the hidden allies of Halbert Golden had been able to get hold of modern binoculars which could compensate for poor eyesight, the native of Pendleton shook her head. "How soon will Harry be back?" she then asked, looking around. "We sent her out hours ago to scout the terrain. She should be back by now..."

"Belle!"

She and Tabitha turned as a very tomboyish girl came up to them, effortlessly dismounting her nightmare after dropping the special cloaking screen daywalkers like them could use to mask their presence from potential prey. Harriet Hunter was one of the privates in the Amazons. A native of Iva, she was the daughter of the local saloon owner before the Late Unpleasantness began. Possessing wiry short black hair similar to what Africans normally had on their head, her grey eyes were also behind reading glasses. "What took you so long, Harry?" Belle then asked. "We sent you out three hours ago."

"Sorry about that, Belle," Harry apologized as she sat on the bench beside the two "officers" of her company. "Got distracted by the smells from the restaurants in the market area. Some of the most heavenly things you could ever enjoy. It was so distracting, I had to stop in one of the open lots and relax or I'd lose my disguise and everyone would see me!" She shook her head. "I'll say this about our hosts: They are not wanting for food or anything in this day and age. Just like home..."

"That ain't our home anymore, Harry!" Tabitha darkly warned. "I ain't going to live in no country with no _**nigger**_ as president! It's just as bad as when Uncle Abe was president! Look what he was ready to do to us all!"

Harry grimly nodded as Belle sighed. The Amazons had been told in very ugly detail about what happened to the Rail-Splitter when John Wilkes Booth tried to kill him to avenge the Confederacy's final defeat in 1865. How some undying monster from _**Prussia**_ of all places found a way to save the lawyer from Illinois from his just appointment with Satan after all the bloodshed he unleashed, then turned him into something no vampire or other creature of the night could best in battle. According to Halbert Golden, the casualties unleashed on America's undead population during the "Score and Four" had been several orders of magnitude _**greater**_ than all the losses during the Late Unpleasantness itself. If that banker's daughter from Canada hadn't found a way to pull Abraham Lincoln out from the dark madness Josef von Taserich plunged him into, there would be no vampires alive in the world today regardless of type. And while the so-called "demon-possessed" were nothing more than simple rabid animals that needed to be put down, other hunters of the night could control themselves.

Shaking her head, the deacon's daughter tried to ignore the growing squeaks of conscience her heart was making about this whole situation. Back in Belle's day, there was a certain order of things in the South. Despite it not being anywhere close to perfect, it kept the peace between the races and between the different types of humanity. Despite the screams for abolition from the North, the South was strong enough to keep things in place...until Abraham Lincoln became president. Once that happened, the plantation gentry among normal humans and the vampire elite of the South bonded together to create a new union, sure their way was the only way to keep the peace in the South and force the damned Yankees away from them.

It didn't happen.

What hadn't been suspected before it was way too late was the fact that almost all of America's magical human population in the South were pro-Union and more than happy to support Lincoln's campaign to help the Colligatio Nosferatu put down the rebellion under Adam Sewell's leadership. Thinking on what befell her and her friends at Rocky Face Ridge in 1864, Belle shook her head as she took a moment to recall what she had seen during the Amazons' time on the front lines helping people like Joseph E. Johnston keep back the hordes of Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. While dealing with normal Yankee soldiers and slaves was one thing to the teenage vampires from the Palmetto State, the hit wizards who surged into the field had been an unwelcome surprise to Sewell's supporters, never mind what thousands of squibs who donned Union blue to serve as sharpshooters in protection of all the Yankee armies in the field ended up doing for Lincoln's satanic cause.

That had been what sealed the Amazons' fate in the very early morning of Wednesday 11 May 1864. Squib sharpshooters who supported the all-black 7th Cavalry Regiment (Magical) of the United States Coloured Troops — most of whom were foreign mercenaries from Europe and the Middle East who had gladly flocked in droves to America to avenge the deaths of thousands of their distant kinsmen, whose ancestors had been _**legally traded for barter**_ by the leaders of the tribal states of Africa to people from America centuries before! — bombarded the Amazons' campsite at the north end of the rebel lines with silver bullets that incapacitated them before dismounted war wizards swept in to finally finish them off. Despite the efforts of people like Tabitha Walters and Dahlia Shore to save all their friends, overwhelming uses of Fiendfyre attacks eventually burned them all to ashes; their souls had been saved thanks to special mesonium crystals prepared by Halbert Golden months before to ensure they could be recovered and allowed to serve the forces of freedom again when needed.

And by God, they were needed NOW!

It was bad enough to see how much this beautiful and ancient land have been horribly corrupted by the Yankees in the wake of that awful war over six decades before which had nearly burned everything down from Sapporo to Naha.

It was much worse now that the crystal-bloods were doing everything to influence the long-suffering people of this land into directions no sensible person in the land regardless of who he or she was would truly want.

And the man responsible for this?

Tomobiki's most hated citizen bar none, Moroboshi Ataru.

Oh, would he EVER die for his crimes against humanity...

* * *

 _ **Narita**_ _ **International Airport, an hour later...**_

"Mister Sturges? Mister O'Connor?"

Hearing that polite voice call out to his companion and himself as they stepped out of the customs station after getting off the last nonstop British Airways flight from London Heathrow, the middle-aged man in the well-worn travelling clothes smiled as he walked over, hand out. "Mister Gandolfini?!" Henry Sturges greeted with a delighted smile.

Antonio Gandolfini smiled as he warmly shook the London-born now EX-daywalker's hand; his mage sight was quick to detect the changed aura that marked Abraham Lincoln's former teacher as what was known as a "Terran-adopted Avalonian". Save for the considerable amount of silver in the raven-haired man's hair, he didn't look any different from the many magical pictures taken of him over the years. "A delight to meet you both at last," the Rome-born half-Japanese senior field agent of the Kantō Magical Association stated in English; his normal cover made him a teacher of history at the Mahora Academy. He then warmly grasped Liam O'Connor's hand. "How exactly are Mistress Summers and her flock?" he wondered.

The Irish-born "scourge of Europe" known more commonly as "Angel" grinned. "They're doing fine. We hope to have the formal ceremony in a month, but a lot of demons and vampires are getting agitated about what's been happening worldwide. Buffy and the others are constantly in the field; it was a miracle that she was able to spare some time to visit when Dally Shore was captured." With that, they headed to where the luggage carousels were. "Just need to get some overnight bags."

"Understandable, sir."

As the three walked over to await the former vampires' personal belongings, Gandolfini whispered a spell to create a "notice me not" field around them so they could converse in private. "Our people are out on the streets trying to track down Major Thornbridge and her friends," the history teacher and war mage stated. "There's been no signs of them, but Marshal Yomigawa has allowed us to make use of special spells she devised to help track down stray nightmares that haven't been registered by any magical ministry. We think they're in the Tōkyō area, but we can't get it more narrower than that."

"Have you asked Lady Negako to help out?" Henry asked, quickly sensing the obvious hole in that plan. "Even if they're using ebony mesonium crystals to mask themselves from outside detection, Lady Negako is experienced and knowledgeable enough to pick out the 'blank' spots in the surrounding ki fields, then get close enough to visually detect them."

"Given that they're all in war golem bodies, they won't need blood to survive," Angel added as he reached for his overnight bag. "That helps them be even more stealthy; no bodies to leave behind that would lead us right to them."

The others nodded as Henry retrieved his own bag...

* * *

 _ **Nerima, the H**_ _ **ōya Market on the border with Nishitōkyō, an hour later...**_

"My, Ellie-chan! You certainly do have an appetite, don't you?!"

Hearing that observation from the middle-aged man now serving her a third bowl of miso rāmen, the stocky teenager with the long, straight dirty blonde hair and the sparkling blue-grey eyes under reading glasses could only beam. "It's such good food, sir, I couldn't resist having more," Eleanor Reese said with an impish smile to her current host, which made the other people gathered there to have a supper gaze at the native of Belton in South Carolina with a mix of admiration and attraction, especially if they were young men just freed from hours of evening juken and wanting to get a quick meal into them before they headed home for the night. Sensing those appraising looks made the daughter of the Belton town station master for the Columbia and Greenville Railroad blush as she concentrated on enjoying the wonderful noodle broth she had been given.

Unlike the other members of her present "fire team" (to borrow the modern military term for her group now camped out at the southern end of Tomobiki sent here to scout out the local terrain), Ellie had dressed in modern clothes: A pair of blue jeans that embarrassingly hugged her hips and legs closely and a button blouse that really didn't do much to hide her considerable bust. Thanks to her vampire metasenses, the woman who had been born in the fall of 1846 could sense all the boys around her mentally undressing her to imagine what was underneath. While she hadn't worn the hoop skirts and other voluminous clothing that plantation gentry such as her own commanding officer Rachel Thornbridge often wore back in the old days, the first sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons had once been able to cover herself up more than what modern girls did now.

While she was inwardly very flattered that all the boys found her quite attractive, she knew that it would be very stupid for any one of them to try to become intimate with her as their own inner lusts were now urging them to do.

And no, it wasn't because she was a vampire.

Unlike many of the others in her company, Ellie fully understood the one big vulnerability of her current war golem body:

Having blood injected into her.

While she was grateful to be able to eat normal food again after eighteen months of nothing but blood, the first sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons knew that if she DID drink anyone's blood, she ran the risk of being enslaved by the person that gave her those life-giving fluids. It would be infinitely worse if it was an Avalonian that did that to her, given the high levels of mesonium that could be found in a bioroid's blood. And God save her if a monster like Abraham Lincoln or his own principal Josef von Taserich found some way to enslave her using their own blood; the amount of mesonium in their veins and arteries was said to be so great, there would be nothing left of Ellie's conscious soul if she did anything to drink from THAT!

Besides, since she had awoken in this body in Jonesboro over a month before, she hadn't had any urge to consume blood.

While part of her was concerned, the other part of her — the core of the brave girl who wanted to fight for Southern freedom from Yankee tyranny yet was too young to disguise herself as a man to tote a rifle, yet was happy to team with Rachel to create their company of "sidesaddle cavalry" — was quite happy at the current set of circumstances she found herself...

Wait.

Oh, dear.

It was HER again...

Musubi Ayako.

A naïve, innocent alien-born woman-child of about the same physical age as Ellie yet totally inexperienced in the ways of the world — though she was NOT an Avalonian even if she was quite powerful in her own right — that the station master's daughter first met at a bathhouse in Nerima two weeks ago while searching for her intended, her "ashikabi".

On seeing the pretty, quite busty brunette with the eyes of pure milk chocolate for the first time — especially in the nude! — Ellie had thought her the _**prettiest**_ girl she had ever encountered in either of her lifetimes.

"Ellie-san!"

Ellie looked over, then blinked on noting that Musubi wasn't alone. "Evening, Ayako," she called out with a wave, indicating the free seats at the yatai she had been relaxing at while scouting out the area around Tomobiki to find good places to camp out while they waited for the chance to kill Moroboshi Ataru. "Who're your friends?" she then asked as she gazed upon the tomboyish redhead with the chestnut eyes, then the more severe-looking woman with the soft silver hair cut short and shaggy around her angular face, that pierced with grey eyes under reading glasses similar to what the station master's daughter wore. Fortunately for those who might get curious, all three were dressed in civilian clothing that flattered their well-toned and exercised figures while still hiding all the more sinful details. Thinking on that, Ellie then remembered that bastardized Shintō shrine miko dress Musubi had been wearing when they met at the bathhouse, clothes that the alien-born metahuman fighter stated had been designed perfectly for her so she could endure an upcoming tournament she was determined to win.

Musubi giggled. "These are two of my sisters, Ellie-san," she said as she sat down right next to Ellie, then made introductions.

"Honoured, Eleanor-san," the studious Kochō Akiko said with a polite bow of her head while the more athletic Katsuragi Hisako gave her a shy smile. "Have you been long in Japan? I do recognize your accent."

Ellie smiled. "I came here about a week before I met Ayako, Miss Akiko. So what are you doing? Still seeking your intended?"

The other two nodded as the crowd around them quieted down to eavesdrop. Given the recent presence of aliens beyond the Avalonians in neighbouring Tomobiki and the crazy antics once centred on Fūrinkan High School since the man now called "Hayashi Ranma" first come to town in April, people living in this part of Metropolitan Tōkyō had long developed an acute hyper-sense when it came to the unusual and unique. They knew something was WAY off about Eleanor Reese even if her incredible good manners and polite speech made her seem quite harmless even if people quickly realized she was a fighter of some sort. They also knew Musubi Ayako and her sisters were aliens of an unknown species who were referred to as "sekirei" as a group, marooned on Earth centuries ago to be later found in cryogenetic storage by the current president of Mid-Bio Informatics based now in Kōtō, Professor Minaka Hiroto, while he had still been studying at Tōkyō University. But since none of them seemed interested in starting a fight or anything like that, no one had complained to anyone in authority. After all, given Moroboshi Negako's presence in Tomobiki, any serious threat could be dealt with right away if necessary.

All one had to remember was what went down on the night of the Ides of March...

"Hai, Ellie-san, we are," Katsuragi said with a tired sigh, her voice possessed with a tone of melancholy that made Ellie instantly think of all the times people had complained about the chronic depression that haunted the Rail-Splitter throughout his normal life and even now that he was effectively near-immortal. "So far, nothing. Except for the many 'sub-optimal' ashikabi that Akiko here finds, not to mention the creeps that want to tilt the Plan out of whack."

She nodded as the owner placed a bowl of tonkotsu rāmen before her. "I don't agree to it as well, Hisako," Kochō noted before she smiled as the yatai owner gave her miso rāmen, then prepared local-style rāmen for Musubi. "But it's our lot in life."

"You shouldn't be forced to fight just to have a good husband, Miss Akiko," Ellie noted. "Or good wife if you're inclined _**that**_ way. Once you meet your intended, get married, then settle down and have a family. It's only proper."

Hearing that statement from the native of the mid-Nineteenth Century and veteran of America's most devastating war, Kochō tried not to grin too much. Thanks to her technokinetic and technopathic abilities, the younger of the two "brain sekirei" within the only living flock of pure-blood sekirei alive on Earth today knew exactly what the woman Musubi was now convinced was her destined one actually was, when and where she came from and what had brought her to Japan in the first place. Her ability to mentally link to the Internet allowed her to also get into the MagicNet used by all magical beings on Earth as well as the HyperNet used by Earth's constantly-growing Avalonian population. The revival of the Anderson County Amazons thanks to the late Professor Maimon Mishneh had made front page news in American magical dailies like the _New York Ghost_ and the _Chicago Coven_ ; that had been accompanied by outcries by members of the Magical Congress of the United States to have the teenage daywalker vampires-in-war golem bodies rounded up and destroyed, which flew totally against Professor Mishneh's posthumous call to Inada Mizuho to see the twenty-four South Carolinians restored to true life as Avalonians.

One of that group, Private Dahlia Shore of Centerville, had already done that.

Now it was time for First Sergeant Eleanor Reese of Belton to do the same...

* * *

 _ **Nearby...**_

"Are you SURE you want to come down here, Miss Kasumi? Given what that dang fool father of yours was planning to do...!"

An amused giggle escaped the older woman dressed now in Canadian Forces naval combat dress without any rank insignia on her shoulders even if the flag of Japan was on one arm and the United Nations Earth Defence Force blue flag was on her other arm, an H.M.C.S. _Haida_ baseball cap on her forehead to partially cover her long dark brown hair now done up in a simple ponytail. "Thank you so much, Dally-chan, but I'll be fine," Miyamoto Kasumi stated as she gave Dally Shore a reassuring look. "Much that there were few people in Nerima who bothered me when Ranma-kun was there, I do have many acquaintances and friends in all the local markets. I want to pass on my new address to them. You can relax yourself now."

Hearing that from the eldest daughter of Tendō Sōun, the deacon's daughter from Centerville sighed. She was in Army Combat Uniform, though she switched the state flag of South Carolina and the service tape of the 202nd Cavalry Regiment's home service for the Star and Stripes and the service tape for the United States Army, her black beret perched properly on her head and her long hair done in a simple bun at the base of her skull. "Well, if you think it's safe, all the world to you, but still..."

"Dally?!"

Dally gasped on hearing that familiar voice, then she spun around...

...before her jaw dropped. "Bridget?! What in God's name are YOU doing here?!"

Approaching her now from the side alley where she just dismounted her now-invisible nightmare in was a very slender girl appearing to be a year older than Dally. Possessing dark brown hair straight and long down to the level of her breasts, her dark brown eyes peeked through a face almost as hawkish as Dally's. Seeing her even if she was in modern clothes of slacks and blouse in lieu of the butternut-and-grey uniform the Anderson County Amazons wore when in the field, Kasumi quickly realized this was Bridget Moore, a native of Pendleton whose father had fallen on the second day at Shiloh in 1862, killed in the massed counterattack launched on P.G.T. Beauregard's army by the forces of Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell in the wake of the tragic death of Albert Sidney Johnston the day before thanks to a shot fired from behind by a Confederate soldier who didn't note where he was aiming. That had embittered the tavern owner's daughter against the Yankees, making her want to hunt down Grant and his ilk to avenge her father. Ever since her rebirth in Georgia, Bridget had gladly supported whatever Rachel Thornbridge believed was necessary to stay alive and active in this strange and terrifying era. "Weren't you told?!" Bridget demanded as she took in the modern combat uniform her younger friend was wearing. "We all came here to...!"

" _ **TEND**_ _ **Ō**_ _ **KASUMI!**_ "

Kasumi gasped on hearing that thunderous voice, then turned...

...before a ghastly image nearly overwhelmed her field of view. " _ **YOU WILL COME HOME RIGHT THIS INSTANT AND MARRY RANMA-KUN!**_ " the demon head of one Tendō Sōun bellowed just as the very frail-looking "master" of Musabetsu Kakutō-ryū charged at her, his fist cocked to strike her down and make her submit.

Stunned that her comatose father had somehow recovered from the sight of his precious dōjō shot to pieces by Shimizu Kaho of J.S. _Yamato_ over a week before, Kasumi didn't react fast enough to avoid the blow soaring at her forehead.

Dally Shore wasn't so affected.

With a snarl, the deacon's daughter snap-drew her Model 1840 cavalry sabre from its scabbard, then spun around, unleashing a brutal cross-cut that slashed across the older man's face to rip through both his eyes and carve out a good chunk of the bridge of his nose. A pain-filled shriek ripped through the air as his demon head attack instantly dispersed and he collapsed to the street. Luckily, Bridget had also reacted, yanking Kasumi clear of the crazy man's fist before he would strike her down; having been in and around Nerima in the last two weeks, the tavern owner's daughter had heard the horrid story of what had befallen such a sweet girl like Kasumi and her sisters due to some fraudulent marriage arrangement to a very nice country boy named Saotome (now Hayashi) Ranma. As the would-be doctor nodded her thanks to Bridget for what she did, Dally spun around and plunged the tip of her weapon into Sōun's lower right back, where his liver was. His howl of agony was cut off as that hot jab of steel in his body overwhelmed him, then he collapsed in an unconscious heap on the asphalt.

Seeing her friend do that, Bridget blinked in confusion. She had been quick to pick up the mineral water-like scent around Dally that marked her as a crystal-blood, never mind her wearing the modern Yankee army uniform with the Stars and Stripes on her right arm. But seeing her act just like she had done many times during the Late Unpleasantness instantly convinced the tavern owner's daughter that her friend from Centerville was still HER in the body of an Avalonian...and clearly, the would-be doctor from Nerima was now under Dally's protection if what she had done to Kasumi's moron father indicated anything.

Footfalls then heralded the arrival of several police officers and a considerable crowd from the nearby Hōya Market, all of whom look outraged at what nearly had happened to Nerima's most well-liked resident. Among them was one familiar face to Bridget and Dally and three alien-born girls Kasumi now knew of thanks to a recent encounter Inada Mizuho had on Kamikura-jima near the Beyonēsu-retsugan southeast of Aoga-shima in the Izu-shotō south of Tōkyō Bay. Girls that Kasumi knew well.

"Kasumi-san! Are you okay?!"

Kasumi giggled. "I'm fine, Ayako-chan!" she assured before Musubi Ayako came over to warmly embrace her, grateful that the sekirei's incredible strength wouldn't affect her now that she was in an Avalonian body in lieu of her birth-form.

"What happened here, Kasumi-san?!" Katsuragi Hisako demanded.

"Her dang fool father decided he couldn't stand the fact that she finally saw him for the Yankee carpetbagger he was, Miss Hisako," Dally answered, which made Ellie Reese and Bridget Moore hiss in anger at such a description. By then, several Avalonian volunteer police officers led by Ozaki Leona were moving to get Sōun into stasis so he wouldn't bleed out from the wounds the deacon's daughter from Centerville just unleashed. "Looks like he was playing possum and waiting for the chance to beat Miss Kasumi down so he could force her to marry Mister Ranma even if he's now effectively married to Miss Mimōko."

"The schools...will be joined..."

"There are no schools, Sōun. How many times must you hear this?"

Hearing that, Kasumi sighed as she gazed over her shoulder while a portable oxygen mask was placed over what was left of Sōun's face, a general anaesthetic being put into him to render him unconscious for transport to Nerima General Hospital so he could be permanently sedated and made safe. "Ojii-san. Negako-san," she greeted the two grandmasters standing nearby, both currently gazing without any pity at the fallen "master" of the "Tendō-ryū". "Our mistake."

"Do not blame yourself, Kasumi," Moroboshi Negako assured her. "You could not sense how much Sōun held in reserve even with his falling so far out of practice. Nor could you sense how desperate he was to see his dreams made real."

"Panicked when he saw that the house was torn down and everything of his was gone after he escaped the mental institution," Happōsai noted, shaking his head. "Idiot..." He then gazed with a critical eye at the woman who had effectively sliced Sōun down with the dispassionate élan any truly experienced fighter could project when needed. "Nice work, Dally-chan."

"Fool carpetbagger begged for it, sir," Dally noted as she drew out a cloth from her jacket pocket to wipe her sabre down.

A pair of hands suddenly took the cloth, making the deacon's daughter gaze into the wide eyes of one Kochō Akiko. "Um..."

A beautiful and inviting smile was now on the information mistress' face. "My ashikabi...!"

Bridget and Ellie both gaped on hearing that, then they blinked on confusion as Dally's cheeks reddened considerably...before the deacon's daughter felt her heart lurch badly on sensing the aura of pure _**desire**_ bursting from the silver-haired sekirei's heart and soul. Shaking her head as she felt her vision narrow to focus only on the woman who would soon gladly call herself "Akiko Shore" once they formalized it elsewhere, the native of Centerville gulped before a sense of pure _**bliss**_ overcame her.

"Aren't you the prettiest thing...!"

Hearing that and sensing the acceptance in the heart and soul of this reborn veteran of the hidden side of America's most tragic war, Kochō grinned in delight before she leaned up to swamp Dally's lips with her own.

A second later, a massive bloom of ki exploded from the sekirei's back, forming a beautiful aura of energy wings in a peafowl-like halo that flooded the information specialist's body from head to toe with sheer power!

"Angel...!" Bridget croaked as she and Ellie gaped in awe at that sight...

...before twin cries of orgasmic joy caused them both to spin around as Musubi and Katsuragi collapsed to their knees, their own cheeks as red as cherries as they felt the aura of raw, naked passion from their sister nearly cause their own tama to energize and make them leap over to claim the deacon's daughter from Centerville as their own destined one.

" _ **AYAKO!**_ "/" _ **MISS HISAKO!**_ "

As Dally's fellow cavalry troopers moved to comfort the two dazed sekirei, Negako shook her head.

Regardless of their true planet of origin, nothing beat human foibles for their sheer entertainment value...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

As I've said before in other stories related to _Phoenix From the Ashes_ , I'll try to concentrate the actual explanations and notes specific to each chapter of the story without a total rehashing of what was written in the main story. Please at least scan the writer's notes in _PFTA_ and the side story _A Nice Quiet Place_ to understand better some of the concepts introduced here.

As for this part...

1) I base this story's interpretation of the character from _Battle Royale_ as they were depicted in the translated manga by long time _Legion of Super-Heroes_ writer **Keith Giffen** (born 1952). However, while I tend to base descriptions of everyone's looks on how they appeared in the manga, I will modify the looks to better reflect a wonderful artist and fan of the story know by the pen name " **Mute Massacre** " or " **Catspine** ". You may find his work at the Deviant Art website under the former name.

2) Military unit notes:

 **Her Majesty's Canadian Ship** _ **Queen**_ is one of the Royal Canadian Navy's **naval reserve divisions** ( **NRDs** ), the "stone frigates" who can help augment manning shortfalls in regular Navy units both ashore and at sea. _Queen_ was first established as a "half-company" of reserve personnel (averaging 50 all ranks) in 1923. Said unit remained at that level of strength until it was made a "tender" (detached sub-unit) to the west coast Navy base, **Her Majesty's Canadian Ship** _ **Naden**_ , in 1941, then commissioned under its current name the following fall. Like several of her sister NRDs, _Queen_ was "paid off" (decommissioned) in 1964 due to massive budget cuts and falling crew enrolments, though she was recommissioned in 1975. The ship's name is the English translation of her home city's name, **Regina** in Saskatchewan.

 **Hōya Air Base** is my own creation. I use this as a plot device to describe why Tomobiki always had something of a Western-style grid street pattern when viewed from above in the _Yatsura_ manga and anime. In the universe of this story, Hōya AB would be a landing strip that supported the American occupational forces in the wake of the end of the Second World War.

3) Whether or not the anecdote in the third main scene actually happened can't be confirmed. However, it was something **Abraham Lincoln** spoke of to the man who did portraits of him, **Francis Bicknell Carpenter** (1830-1900). That particular quote comes from a remarkable book of quotes from Lincoln that can be easily purchased through Kindle or other e-reader book providers, _**The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations**_ (2005), written by Bob Blaisdell.

4) Whether or not Private **Bobbie Jenkins** from North Carolina really lived, I can't say. He's most likely a character from the wonderful team of **Newt Gingrich** and **William R. Forstchen** , who composed a trilogy of alternate history books that took a look at a different outcome of the battle of Gettysburg. Abraham Lincoln was depicted having meeting a dying Bobbie Jenkins in the second book, _Grant Comes East: A Novel of the Civil War_ , first published in 2004. I felt it was worth reusing here.

5) As I've said several times before, all magical anecdotes from Canada and America are explained in _Magic and Canada_. This includes a note about the **7th Cavalry Regiment (Magical)** of the **United States Coloured Troops** ( **USCT** ) in the Civil War.

6) Translations: **Rittmeister** — Literally "ride master", the German army title for a cavalry captain (NATO rank code OF-2); **Freiherr** — Literally "free lord", the German noble equivalent title to a British baron; **Kuromoroboshi** — Literally "black meteor shower", this is the name of the shinobi force that protects the matriarch of the Moroboshi Clan (as first introduced in _The Senior Year_ ); **Druj** — Literally "lie" in Avestan, this is the catch-all phrase that indicates all forms of evil or anything that goes against the divine word as put forth by the Prophet Zaraϑuštra, **aša** ("truth"); **Juken** — Literally "taking an examination", this is the "cram school" concept where students go to private facilities to practice on important examinations to ascend to higher institutions like university; **Ashikabi** — Literally "plant bud", this is the term applied to those with sekirei ancestry who could awaken a feather's powers; **Beyonēsu-retsugan** — Bayonnaise Rocks; **Izu-shotō** — Izu Islands.

7) For those who don't know, the maxim "keep up the scare" was quoted by General **Nathan Bedford Forrest** (1821-77).

8) Quick _Yatsura_ character note: **Mujaki** first appeared in the Yatsura manga story "Waking to a Nightmare" (manga chapter #31). He was also the antagonist of the second movie, _Beautiful Dreamer_.

9) _Negima_ character note: **Antonio Gandolfini** first appeared in the "Mahora Festival" arc of the manga (manga chapters #72-168). His given name is my creation. And no, I don't think he's full Japanese with a family name like that!

10) The **Columbia and Greenville Railroad** was a broad gauge (5 feet) railroad that connected the city of Greenville in the upstate region of South Carolina to the state capital in Columbia. One of the stations on that route is **Eleanor "Ellie" Reese** 's home town of **Belton** , not far from the county seat of Anderson County. The railroad operated from 1852-80, when it went into receivership and was reformed as the "Greenville and Columbia Railway"; it was eventually merged into the **Southern Railway** network in 1894 after being leased for nearly a decade by the **Richmond and Danville Railroad**. During the Civil War, the Columbia and Greenville remained intact until William T. Sherman's troops invaded the Palmetto State in 1865, wrecking 12 miles of track. These days, most of the track is abandoned; the station house in Belton now serves as the town museum.

11) As I did with the characters of _Ikkitōsen_ in _Phoenix From the Ashes_ , I revamped the names of characters from _Sekirei_ to give them "given" and "family" names. Since the leaders of **Mid-Bio Informatics** ( **MBI** ) want to pursue a modem of stealth when it came to the execution of the Sekirei Plan before they won control of Tōkyō (as noted in the manga), the idea of having girls like **Musubi** (#88) and her sisters walk around with just ONE NAME doesn't make any sense; after all, having a single name like **Happōsai** would possess indicates a _rōnin_ , a very ugly state for a native of Japan to be in. To make it easier for me to compose their names, I took the given name of their voice actresses as they were indicated in the Sekirei Wiki website.


	2. A Beacon In the Night

_**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the**_ **Copyright Act** ** _(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration._**

* * *

 _ **Mitaka (three kilometres south of southeast from Tomobiki), westbound on the Chūō Expressway**_ _ **, approaching the interchange with the Tōkyō Gaikan Expressway, an hour after sunset...**_

"WHAT happened, Nega-chan?!"

Moroboshi Negako sighed. She was seated in her dōjō in Tomobiki. "Much that I was concerned about Rachel's troop causing issues with Ataru and the others, it appears Eleanor Reese and Bridget Moore have found Dahlia Shore's transformation into an Avalonian not as difficult to accept as once believed, especially now that she is bound to Kochō Akiko, Eva," the ninjutsu grandmaster stated before she focused through dataPADD link on Antonio Gandolfini, now relaxing with Evangeline McDowell, her chief assistant Karakuri Chachamaru, along with Liam O'Connor and Henry Sturges in the passenger compartment of a limousine sent from Mahora to Narita with Antonio Gandolfini. "You are aware of who and what Akiko is, Antonio?"

"One of the sekirei, one of the two information specialists of the whole flock," the part-Italian history teacher/magical field agent affirmed with a nod of her head. "My congratulations to Private Shore and Miss Kochō at their good fortune. Hopefully, that maniac in Kōtō won't try to ruin things because of this idiotic 'game of the gods' he wants to put those girls through."

"Professor Gandolfini, be VERY assured that I am NOT going to allow my intended to participate in such a Satan-spawned thing!" a cold girl's voice with a noticeable Dixie accent snarled. "You better warn that carpetbagger with the awful fashion sense that I'll do worse to him that I did to Miss Kasumi's father over at the Hōya Market just now!"

"What the hell happened, Happy?!" Evangeline demanded.

"Sōun was playing possum, Eva-chan," Negako's fellow martial arts grandmaster answered over the link as the driver guided the limousine onto the northbound exit ramp for the recently opened western extension to the metropolis' northern outer ring road, which would take them up to the exit for the Mejiro-dōri that led to downtown Nerima to the east and downtown Tomobiki to the west. "He sensed that Kasumi-chan was in the area, then got it into his fool head to force her to marry Ranma-kun. Dally-chan here cut out both his eyes and pierced his liver. He's on life-support at Nerima General now."

A moan escaped the Scottish-born, Irish-adopted daywalker vampire who was one of the few beings on Earth that had scared Adam Sewell given her total command over her magic even after she had been turned by the Mage of the Beginning during the Hundred Years War. "Idiot! You should have just let the fool die, Happy! He's no use to anyone now!"

A tired sigh responded from Happōsai. "The temptation was there, old friend..."

Rueful chuckles escaped the others seated in the limousine save for Chachamaru, who simply shook her head at the sheer waste of it all. "So how are Eleanor and Bridget, Dahlia?" Henry asked. "You said several of these sekirei were there. Much that I echo Professor Gandolfini's congratulations to both yourself and Miss Kochō for your pending nuptials, if this madman in Kōtō plans to force Miss Kochō's sisters to kill each other to achieve this 'eternal Kōten' of theirs..."

"They haven't fully clued into what's going on, Mister Sturges," Dally Shore coolly responded. "Right now, they're in the big recreation room near the base of the memorial tower they set up here to act as a reminder of what Takako and her friends went thru in that Satan-spawned _Program_ of theirs, comforting Miss Ayako and Miss Hisako." As people inside the limousine winced again on hearing of the OTHER issue now facing the Moroboshi Clan, the deacon's daughter from Centerville added, "Mister Shōgo's here with the Genesis Wand to look them over. Nothing really wrong with Miss Ayako or Miss Hisako, but they reacted when Akiko-vayae and I bonded. I can tell that Miss Ayako wants Ellie and Miss Hisako wants Bridget badly. But..."

"They'd have to become Avalonians first," Angel finished.

"Yes, sir."

Sighs filled the limousine. "We'll be there in a few minutes, Dally. Hang on tight," Evangeline promised...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, that moment...**_

"So how are they, Shōgo-kun?"

Kawada Shōgo sighed as he gently passed the focusing crystal of old Sagussa's ultimate terraforming device — which looked from a distance like a large flashlight mated to a ovoid-shaped mesonium focusing crystal — over the sleeping form of Musubi Ayako. Both she and an equally-dozing Katsuragi Hisako were laid out on two of the couches that had been placed in the middle of a two-floor recreation room with skylights built into the ceiling and balconies extending over the main floor on all sides, they connecting to private bedrooms to be used by all the people who would end up living here. Well-placed lights on the roof of the hall lit up the memorial lighthouse whose foundation was at the north end of the communal space, that bordered on both sides on the ground floor with power generator rooms and water storage tanks; the second floors held entrances to bedrooms set aside for Moroboshi Tariko and her bond-mates (to the west) and Moroboshi Ataru and his bond-mates (to the east). Now in the kitchenette on the east side of the main floor was Nakagawa Yūka, who accompanied her classmate down to help in the recovery of the two sekirei, plus entice the two still-golem members of the Anderson County Amazons to let go of the fears that turned them into vampires over a century ago and embrace new and freer lives.

"Other than they're exhausted from going through some pretty brutal orgasms when they felt Akiko-chan bond with Dally-chan, nothing's really wrong with them," the only two-time _Program_ player noted as Yūka walked over to join him, a try with tea in hand. "I picked up this subtle bond that binds them to these jinki things Mizuho warned me about, but I don't want to break it unless they're psychically bonded to someone. I could tell that Akiko-chan is free of her link to a jinki, so she's fine."

"They have _**slave-chains**_ on them?!"

That was a wide-eyed Bridget Moore, who had shot up from her chair to stare in horror at the girl who had been effectively flirting with her since the tavern owner's daughter from Pendleton came to Japan in the first place over two weeks before and the "foot-type" sekirei took interest in the vampire-turned-war golem with the heart of a teenager from a bygone era. "You won't see them even if you become one of us, Bridget-chan," the doctor's son from another universe's Kōbe gently stated as he gazed at Bridget, making her blush even if she nodded thanks for the tea Shōgo's classmate just made for her. "But it's there. According to my friend Mizuho, it's meant as a way to prevent any sekirei from going totally out of control. Since people still remember all the metahuman maniacs that the Black Dragon Society helped create to be slaughtered by the War Hawks back in the Greater East Asia War, I can understand the caution. But if this Minaka moron tries to kill them by remote..."

Bridget snarled as her blue-grey eyes went as red as blood and fangs extended from her canines to give her a frightfully demonic look. "What right does this monster believe he has in trying to hurt a sweet, innocent girl like Hisako?!"

Shōgo and Yūka were both quick to note the dropping of any honorific when it came to the red-haired sekirei. "Don't know," the latter stated as she walked over to offer the other cup of tea to Eleanor Reese, now seated beside the sleeping Musubi and holding her hand. As the first sergeant nodded her thanks, she added, "According to Mizuho-chan, this Minaka idiot's a 'daēva'; that's the Zoroastrian word for a devil. She had to go down to Kamikura-jima a couple months ago to stop some moron from Europe from killing all the sekirei when traitors from the Kantō Magical Association decided they wouldn't go along with the Heavenly Sovereign's desire to help girls like Akiko-chan, Ayako-chan and Hisako-chan integrate into society."

"That's awful!" Ellie snapped. "Ayako means no harm! Yes, she has no experience dealing with society, but she's not evil!"

"I can say the same thing about Hisako!" Bridget added. "Even when she found out from Miss Akiko what I was, she didn't care at all! Much that I am a little unnerved because she wants to court me, it doesn't make her evil at all!"

"You, too?!" the first sergeant from Belton demanded.

The private from Pendleton nodded. "It still strikes me as unnatural, Ellie. But Hisako doesn't care at all that I'm as much a woman as she is. Even if we follow what the crystal-bloods do and find a man to help father her children when she wants to have them, she can accept me _**right now**_ practically as her wife!" She shook her head. "It's so strange. I know magicals didn't mind that sort of thing back in our day, but to see how much its become widespread these days...!"

"Is that part of the reason why many vamps don't like Avalonians?" Yūka wondered.

Surprised at that calm question from the convenience store owner's daughter, the tavern owner's daughter sighed. "Not really. It's the fact that the crystal-bloods are forcing folk to become like them that's the problem. Vampires, goblins and a whole slew of magical folk are getting really agitated about that. I can understand why the crystal-bloods want to make friends after what those Niphentaxians did, but there's a way things are done here and they're upsetting it too much! People are scared!"

Hearing that made Shōgo shake his head. He was quick to pick out the well-crafted lie fed to the Anderson County Amazons by their current patron, Halbert Golden, once right-hand man to the oldest daywalker ever to live, Adam Sewell. He knew from Inada Mizuho that no Avalonian had EVER forced a body-swap on anyone on Earth just because she had the power to do just that regardless of what the "victim" might have desired in the long term. The whole incident concerning Spike and Drusilla a couple months ago within the ruins of Sunnydale near Los Angeles had been prompted by one of the Avalonians of Santa Barbara, who had been acting out of simple humanity to save the former's life from the latter's insane jealousy, then using her mind's eye to view the Te'a to shock the latter back into some semblance of sanity after Spike had been given a sample of the bioroid's blood to save him from a well-aimed stake in the heart. After that had been done and they had been allowed to become Avalonians, William Pratt and Drusilla Keeble bonded in the traditional Sagussan way, got married, then moved to start a family while they still helped the Slayers based in the United Kingdom keep some control over demonic incursions all over Earth. Since the ability to bear children was something a vampire lost on being turned, the sight of two of the most infamous bloodsuckers in history having a BABY would shock the hell out of a lot of undead traditionalists, even famous ones such as Lucius Divius Gallus of ancient Rome (known more commonly these days as "Lucien LaCroix" and living in Toronto) and the former Vlad Țepeș of Wallachia (now calling himself "Alucard" and living near London).

Never mind what had ultimately happened to the most magically powerful of the undead ever to live, Evangeline McDowell of Scotland, some months before thanks to Moroboshi Negako herself when the ninjutsu grandmaster had gone to retrieve her beloved Shichinohe Kaga from her long slumber deep under Library Island in Mahora...

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere in the complex...**_

"Miss Negako! This is way too much! You don't need to do this!"

Negako tried not to smile as she gave Dally a reassuring look. "You have to keep in mind Akiko's needs, Dahlia," the ninjutsu grandmaster stated as she indicated the new bond-mate to the deacon's daughter from Centerville, who was now setting up some personal equipment one of the Kuromoroboshi had brought for her from her temporary residence in Nerima. All three were now in a Martello tower-like private room located to the north of the original Moroboshi residence, sitting on the old road allowance of Nishi-Teibō 10-dōri. Said residence was three floors in height with a portable power generation unit and water storage tank on the ground floor, a combination kitchenette and living room with side bathroom on the second floor and the bedroom on the third floor with a circular skylight over the bed which could be darkened by a touch of a button. It was one of a half-dozen such structures that had been built in an arch-like formation north of the memorial lighthouse tower part-way up to the level of Nishi-Teibō 11-dōri, where a row of townhouses had been built to block off the view of the inner property from the street beyond; those towers were set up around a common recreation area with connecting bridges at the second floor level, the whole linked to a combination annex recreation room and meeting hall on the north side of the tower which could be converted to a temple once Negako's new sister-in-law was trained as a Zoroastrian priestess. "Given you just bonded with her, you still have to take time to understand what her actual needs are. This will help ease your transition into the modern era, which you WILL require to endure to better survive and help your friends adopt once they endure their body-swaps."

Noting that, Dally sighed. "It's gonna be hard, ma'am," she said before a blush crossed her cheeks as Kochō Akiko reached out through their soul-bond to give her a sense of reassurance. The two exchanged looks, then the deacon's daughter crossed her arms. "I mean, I think I can talk Ellie and Bridget into doing it. But there are people like Tabitha. She really hated the idea of someone like Mister Obama being president. Making her see how much good this will be for all of us is gonna be a big chore even if you're getting Miss Evangeline and Mister O'Connor to come visit now. Since Mister Sturges will be there..."

"Wouldn't Sturges-sensei's being a Tarheel not make him seem more acceptable?"

That was the silver-haired sekirei, who was looking over from her laptop. "He's a _**Tarheel**_?!" Dally demanded before her new companion's thoughts flowed into her mind. "Wait! He was part of the Roanoke colony?!"

"He was one of two survivors to escape before it was destroyed by Thomas Crowley; it was in that incident that Henry was turned, alongside Virginia Dare," Negako stated, making Dally gape. "That is the reason Henry has always supported the rules of the Colligatio Nosferatu when it comes to turning people into vampires, plus was willing to train Abraham to seek down and destroy vampires who broke those very rules. The security specialists of agencies such as the American Department of Magic can only do so much before the 'illusion' of vampires becomes a crystal clear reality to normal citizens."

Footfalls echoed from downstairs. "Sadly so, Lady Negako," a familiar voice called out from the tower's living room, making the others turn as Henry Sturges came up, followed by Liam O'Connor and Evangeline McDowell. "Oh, my word!" the London-born daywalker said, nodding in approval. "One of the 'couple' quarters that you had installed in this place, Lady Negako?"

"It was necessary, especially once Noriko and her friends decided they were going to seek out Rachel and her friends and have them endure body-swaps," the ninjutsu grandmaster answered as she allowed the Maga Nosferatu to warmly embrace her. She then allowed both Henry and Angel to bend down and courtly kiss her hand. "I am sure that once the others can see the benefits of becoming Avalonians, more couples will move here," she added.

"Good for them," Henry noted with a nod before he shrugged. "Well, shall we introduce ourselves?"

"Should be fun," Evangeline mused...

* * *

 _ **A half-hour later...**_

"We met Miss Virginia shortly after we were turned," Ellie Reese explained. "She always used to say good things about you, sir. But when Mister Sewell and Mister Golden told us that you were the one who trained Mister Lincoln..."

Henry sighed. "Such was the true tragedy of that age, Miss Reese," the London-born ex-daywalker stated. "You girls never heard the whole story concerning what prompted that war and why. It amazed all of us in the Colligatio that your group was so large. Only Miss Thornbridge and Miss Boseman were plantation owner's daughters. The rest of you..."

"We all wanted to help out when it came to getting the South free of the Yankees, sir," Bridget Moore stated. Like Ellie, the tavern owner's daughter from Pendleton was holding the hand of the young alien woman who had taken interest in her a couple weeks ago when they met at a local bathhouse. Seeing how close Kochō was with Dally, Bridget was trying not to blush too much as she sensed Katsuragi Hisako's wanting look fall her way, just as Musubi Ayako was gazing fondly on the first sergeant of their company. "We weren't old enough to dress as boys and go tote rifles, so we had to do _**something**_...!"

The others in the room nodded. "No one is seeking to judge any of you for your actions during that time, Bridget," Negako calmly declared. "You lacked the necessary knowledge to judge which path you could have taken. However, you cannot exist as you are now. Even one dab of blood anywhere on your skin will see you effectively enslaved to the person who 'gives' you that blood, regardless if the one is magical or not. While Maimon constructed your bodies in that manner in hope of having you 'captured' by Mizuho and her friends as Takako did Dahlia, I believe you can make the choice on your own and make it wisely."

"Besides, given how much Miss Hisako wants you, Bridget..."

Bridget squawked as Dally gave her a knowing look. "It's improper, Dally!"

"You don't like me...?"

"No!" the tavern owner's daughter moaned out before she gazed on the teary-eyed Katsuragi. "It's not that at all, Hisako! Please don't think that! But if I become a crystal-blood, I could take your first kiss away! I know what happens to your people when _**that**_ happens! Given what that Yankee carpetbagger over in Kōtō wants to do to you all...!"

She gasped as the close-quarters fighter squealed out before swamping her with an embrace, their lips colliding in an awkward kiss. Everyone else then gaped on seeing a bloom of energy appear at the back of Katsuragi's neck, though the proper "winging" did not occur. Seeing that, Ellie blinked in confusion before she gazed on Negako. "How's that possible, Miss Negako? According to what Ayako told me, none of their ships ever came close to America when they came here!"

"True, but one crashed off the coast of _**Kenya**_ , Eleanor," Negako stated, making the station master's daughter gasp. "Your being an ashikabi was made possible by the blood you drank from slaves who were descent of couples that formed between Ayako's kinsmen and local tribespeople that eventually migrated to the Guinea coast where their descendants were later transported to North America. Regardless of which, you are an ashikabi and Ayako is reacting to you, as Hisako is to Bridget and Akiko did to Dahlia. I can also sense at least a dozen other sekirei wish to seek their ashikabi among your troop mates."

Everyone gaped. "Like who, Negako-san?!" Musubi demanded.

"Kusano Kana with Sarah Anderson. I am aware that Rachel has made her base camp in Katsushika, where Kana fled after she was tricked into escaping the care of Mid-Bio Informatics before she was properly adjusted to master her powers," Negako explained, causing both Ellie and Bridget to gape on hearing how much the Earth Angel knew of their presence here. "Sanzō Shiina with Charity Burgess. Olivia Floyd with Homura Yuki even if Yuki does not realize Olivia is the one who can help him tame his power. Matsu Aya could easily bond with Judy Littlefield; they are quite compatible even if Aya remains secluded in Izumo-sō. Yashima Yōko with Cordelia Burns; Cordelia is aware of Yōko's current issues with Tanigawa Jun'ichi. Atop that, all the remainder of your group could easily 're-wing' those who have very weak bonds with their current ashikabi."

That made the three sekirei awk in horror. "Negako-san! You can't do THAT!" Kochō shrilled. "If the bond with an ashikabi is broken, we deactivate! That's been the truth for all of us since we were woken!"

"You will not be placed in comas if a 're-winging' occurs, Akiko," Negako calmly affirmed, making the information mistress blink. "The strength of the marei'cha bond is sufficient enough to support your own soul remaining conscious until your body adjusts to being bonded with your new ashikabi. There is no need to concern yourself about this issue."

"Why is this being done, Lady Negako?" Angel demanded as he crossed his arms. "Yes, I can understand the issue of helping these girls properly master their powers, but to force them through _**that**_...!"

"It stems from a misinterpretation of what sekirei do when they seek to mate, Liam," the ninjutsu grandmaster stated, making the natives of nineteenth-century South Carolina blush on hearing of such an intimate topic spoken of in the open in front of men. "Yes, mentally bonding with an ashikabi gives a sekirei the added emotional strength in controlling their abilities. But the scientists under Sahashi Takami elected to put in a fail-safe to ensure that if someone potentially stronger comes to offer himself or herself as an ashikabi to a sekirei already bonded, no re-winging can occur. This is the reason Hiroto does not desire sekirei to be winged by Avalonians. A marei'cha bond will break whatever control Mid-Bio Informatics has over them."

"Just like what was done to Akiko-chan here when Dally-chan kissed her," Nakagawa Yūka noted as she indicated the silver-haired information specialist. Kawada Shōgo had gone outside moments before to enjoy a cigarette.

"Exactly, Yūka."

"I don't want to enslave Ayako...!"

That was a forlorn Ellie. "You will not enslave her, Eleanor," Negako declared. "You will _**free**_ her. As you will Hisako, Bridget."

That made the still-golem members of the Amazons blink before they gazed anew upon the metahumans now at their sides...

* * *

 _ **Adachi in Tōkyō, Toneri Park, an hour before midnight...**_

"I hope she comes soon..."

Seated at one of the benches overlooking the pond that was located in the largest park within the northern ward of Japan's capital city, the smiling teenage girl with the grey eyes and the shaggy strawberry blonde hair partially held back by a headband could only sigh forlornly as she gazed up into the starry night above. Dressed now in normal clothes in lieu of her black-trimmed white gown and thigh-highs that served as her battle uniform, Yashima Yōko could only shudder in hope that her beautiful night-rider would come by while on "patrol" and they could spend some time alone. Knowing that the main body of the Anderson County Amazons were now camped out in Mizumoto Park in neighbouring Katsushika, the hammer fighter knew it wouldn't take long for the blonde native of Pendleton in South Carolina to come see her; these days, Yashima had camped herself out in a ryokan close to Toneri Park while she waited the start of the Sekirei Plan...

It was hopefully enough to keep another would-be ashikabi away from her...

"Now, why on Earth would a cute little thing like you be doing out here all by her lonesome in the middle of the night?" a wonderful teasing voice then called out from behind Yashima, making the sekirei gape in delight. "You never know if some mean bushwhacker might come along and try to take advantage of you!"

Yashima giggled. "Well, at least I have a nice vampire cowgirl who's willing to protect me from such meanies!" she said.

The night seemed to shift, allowing a well-formed blonde with dark grey eyes to appear. As she was on "patrol", Cordelia Burns was in her grey-and-butternut brown field uniform, blank sleeves on her upper arms indicating she was a private in the Anderson County Amazons. Walking over while keeping her hand on her sheathed cavalry sabre, the farmer's daughter moved to sit beside the sekirei, then she smirked as she allowed Yashima to warmly embrace her. They gazed deeply into the other woman's eyes before they shared a passionate kiss, their tongues gently playing as Della tried to not splay her fangs and accidentally take in Yashima's blood; she had been told what might happen to her if she did drink blood. After a moment, they pulled apart, then Della smiled as the slightly shorter girl moved to cuddle with her. "How are you, Yōko?"

"Wishing you were real so you could wing me properly," the sekirei hammer fighter whispered. She then winced on sensing the fearful jolt in the vampire-turned-golem's body on her saying that. "Sumimasen, Della...!"

A sigh escaped the farmer's daughter. "I know you see it as me being safe from all the potential horrors that exist in this day and age," she noted. "Yeah, I am wanting to be flesh-and-blood again. Much that I'm grateful to Professor Mishneh for doing what he did, this isn't a 'natural' body for me. But to be one of the crystal-bloods after all they've done..."

Hearing that made Yashima want to shriek. She wasn't as networked as Kochō Akiko was, but she did keep up with news on the HyperNet thanks to the older sekirei's personal links into the Avalonians' information network. She knew of what happened to two famous demon-possessed vampires a couple months ago at the site of that interdimensional nexus called a "Hellmouth" near Los Angeles. While some among the leadership of the Provisional Republic thought it had been skirting the edge of what was promised to the United Nations back in March when it came to turning Terrans into Avalonians, saving lives was certainly an acceptable excuse for what that girl did. "I can't feel your true power in this body, Della. I'm reacting to you, but I can't wing myself on you. I know it's you, Ashikabi-sama. Please wing me. We can both be free..."

"Oi! Gaijin!"

Della jerked, then she looked over her shoulder to see a shuddering teenage man standing nearby dressed in modern clothing, he now glaring wrathfully at the sight of this strange American monster hugging the sekirei he had been targeting for over a month now. As Yashima yelped on sensing the subtle mental pull towards Tanigawa Jun'ichi deep in her heart, the farmer's daughter then sighed as she felt her vampire powers start to surge up. "Mister Tanigawa, didn't your mamma ever teach you something called 'common manners'?" she said as she rose, moving to keep the sekirei behind her. "You..."

She then gasped as something splashed into her face, a familiar copper-like smell assaulting her nose before her whole body seized up. "Ha!" Jun'ichi snarled as Yashima screamed in horror on seeing the vampire-turned-golem collapse to the ground. "Lucky thing the folks in MBI told us about how to take down these things!" He then glared at the hammer fighter. "Come...!"

He then felt a burst of air from behind him as light seemed to burn him from behind, causing him to gasp before he turned.

" _ **Master Jun'ichi! Who made you believe you can simply enslave Mistress Yōko and Mistress Cordelia like that?!**_ "

" _ **MIZUHO-SAMA!**_ " Yashima screamed out in relief...

* * *

 _ **North of Toneri Park, that moment...**_

"Hello, Yuki."

Hearing that pleasant greeting from someone that both fascinated him and frightened him, one of the elder of the four male sekirei alive today blinked before he gazed at the smiling blonde now seated beside the yakitori yatai that was the usual after-work hangout for the escort from Club Spark over in Taitō's Senzoku 4-chōme district, the site of the famous red light district of Yoshiwara in pre-Meiji days. Glad to see that the quartermaster sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons was dressed in normal clothes and not her very distinct grey-and-butternut combat uniform, Homura Yuki — known more commonly among all his co-workers as "Kagura Yuki" — sighed as he took a seat beside Olivia Floyd. After making an order for a late evening snack, the male escort smiled as he gazed deep into her warm hazel eyes. "Quiet patrol?" he asked.

"Oh, it's quiet," the stagecoach owner's elder daughter from Pendleton said as she gently shifted her hair, which made his body twitch and tense at such a sensual show of her utterly perfect blonde American beauty, with traditionally "perfect" body proportions for someone that belonged in the pages of _Playboy_. Never mind she now styled her hair similar to what Marilyn Monroe had done save for Olivia's hair being longer. Never mind she was well over a century and a half away from her proper time period, in an age where all the truths she saw as normal — truths she gladly gave up her very _**humanity**_ to defend! — were now either obsolete or horribly antiquated. Never mind that this woman was both insanely capable of dealing with all sorts of threats, yet was vulnerable in one very critical aspect...but because some idiot back in America somehow blindsided her and her friends into believing that seeking out the one surefire path back to freedom was the WORST thing she could do...

A finger playfully tapped the silver-haired, effeminate twenty-something's nose, making him jolt in surprise. "Now, you stop that, Yuki!" Olivia scolded. Both spoke English, which ensured others who might want to eavesdrop on the conversation wouldn't really understand their words. "You can't make me consider doing that! Not after what we learned!"

Homura sighed. "What if you were _**lied**_ to, Ollie?"

That made the South Carolinian balk.

"Hey! Gaijin!"

Olivia perked, then she looked over her shoulder...

...before she gawked as a glass phial flew right at her face, it filled with a very familiar-looking substance.

Energy seared through the air to disintegrate the phial before it could strike Olivia and shatter, splattering blood all over her. Before the grungy-looking man who tossed that glass at the quartermaster sergeant of the Amazons could realize what was happening, a hand of hard metal grabbed him by the neck and slammed him hard into a telephone pole, knocking him down!

" _ **GOSHUJIN-SAMA!**_ "

A bolt of stun energy then lashed out to catch whom Homura recognized as Natsu Ayame in the throat, causing the throwing knife specialist to be slammed back by the beam of sheer ki power from the transformed eye of Moroboshi Ataru and collapse onto the street nearby. As the crowd around them gasped and screamed on seeing the dark and demonic form of Tomobiki's most infamous resident standing in _**Adachi**_ of all places, he pulled his hand away, allowing the fool who had just tried to knock out Olivia Floyd to collapse onto the street; Homura never got the idiot's name in all the times he had gone to protect unwinged feathers, but knew he wasn't anywhere close to being the right person for Natsu to have winged herself on. " _ **That's not the way to treat a lady**_ ," the Cyborg said in his normal metal-tinged and nearly-emotionless voice.

 _ **«Dearest!»**_

People gasped on hearing that in their minds, then they scanned around for the source. " _ **Idiot's down, Mizuho**_ ," Ataru said as he walked over to the dazed Natsu. " _ **Olivia's safe. What about Cordelia?**_ "

 _ **«This swine who's been stalking the pure Lady Yōko was able to entrap the noble Lady Cordelia with his own blood,»**_ his bond-mate replied. As Olivia croaked in horror on hearing that and Homura moved to comfort her, many of the crowd nearby broke out in excited chatter as they tried to determine what on Earth had brought both _**Moroboshi Ataru**_ and _**Inada Mizuho**_ down to their part of Tōkyō this evening. _**«I think I'll pay him back the courtesy by draining all his blood to gift to Master Alucard over in old London and feeding the swine's corpse to a hungry shark in return. Much that I realize how much that daēva Golden has so thoroughly deceived Lady Rachel and her doughty friends, that doesn't give that other daēva Hiroto the excuse to meddle in affairs not his own! Young Mistress Kana has chosen the Noble Lady Sarah as her true beloved! If these daēva worshippers can't accept that, forcing RE-WINGINGS might make them see the light finally!»**_

" _ **YOU HAVE NO RIGHT, INADA MIZUHO! THE GAME OF THE GODS WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!**_ "

As people gaped in understandable confusion on hearing that screaming voice echo from multiple loudspeakers posted on telephone poles and nearby buildings, Homura snarled. Even if it was worth seeing that white-cloaked idiot over in Kōtō simply just lose it like that, the repercussions of _**this**_ would rock the whole of Japan before long. "Minaka...!"

"Is that dang fool insane?!" Olivia snarled.

Ataru gazed her way as the cold fire turned him back to normal, which made many of the crowd relax even if several onlookers had managed to capture that incredible transformation on their video cameras and cell phones. "His sanity has always been questioned since the very beginning, Olivia-san!" he said with a playful wink at her, then he calmly knelt down to reach behind the stunned Natsu, feeling where the sekirei insignia had formed on the nape of her neck when she had been winged. Tapping several pressure points around the crest, he relaxed as the knife fighter croaked before a dazed look crossed her face. At the same time, the unconscious ashikabi nearby jolted before blood began leaking from his nose.

Olivia gasped on smelling that. Realizing what was happening right away thanks to talks with several sekirei about the affects of being winged, she lunged over to push Ataru away from Natsu. "Stop that, you monster! You're going to kill him!"

A new burst of cold fire produced a metal hand that snared hers and forced her back as the Cyborg straightened himself. " _ **I have no time for your inability to see the truth, Olivia!**_ " he stated before he drew the dazed sekirei back to her feet. " _ **Now is NOT the time to worry about Halbert Golden's hurt sensibilities. I have other things to deal with now. Ayame?**_ "

Natsu gasped before she blinked, then she looked around. "Goshujin-sama...?" she moaned in confusion, a lost look crossing her face. Blinking again as she tried to mentally reach out to the one who gave the knife fighter her wings, she then looked anew at the man now beside her. "Ataru-kun?! Have you seen Goshujin-sama anywhere?! I'm sure he was here...!"

Before Olivia could point to the fallen man nearby, Homura gently forced her hand down, making her gape at him. " _ **She's right behind you, Ayame**_ ," Ataru calmly stated as he nodded to someone now approaching her from behind.

Natsu jolted, then she blushed, an embarrassed giggle escaping her. "Oh, Natsu-chan's such a fuddy-duddy!" she childishly squeaked out, making Homura gape on seeing her act as drunk as a certain mistress of winds often did once she got enough alcohol inside her. "Natsu-chan forgot that Goshujin-sama was a girl! Natsu-chan is silly!" And with that, she turned...

...to embrace a girl in Canadian Forces naval combat dress.

"Yukiko-san?!" Homura gasped...

...just as Natsu's lips took in that of Kitano Yukiko's!

" _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!**_ "

A massive explosion of ki then flooded the street, that accompanied by the orgasmic screams of two very powerful sekirei...!

* * *

 _ **Toneri Park, that moment...**_

" _ **WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!**_ "

"That was the chief daēva himself, fool!" Mizuho stated as she slowly advanced on Tanigawa Jun'ichi, the Staff of Gihan in hand and its crystal glowing. By then, Yashima Yōko had managed to pull Della Burns clear of the former's would-be ashikabi, protecting the farmer's daughter with both her body and her gravity hammer to ensure Jun'ichi couldn't try to order her around. "He was warned sometime ago by my sister-in-law that any action that went contrary to the Imperial Rescript given his organization concerning our new countrywomen from the stars would be stopped by any means possible. This 'sekirei plan' is in contradiction to what the Heavenly Sovereign desires of people such as Lady Yōko. It will not be allowed to happen..."

 _KRUNCH!_

Mizuho blinked in surprise on seeing Jun'ichi now buried under a massive rock thrown at him from behind. She then smirked as her meta-senses picked up who had just arrived on the scene. "Lady Shizuka!" she then called out. "The Wise Lord's blessings upon you this evening! I trust that issue from six weeks agone was resolved?"

"Hai, Mizuho-san!" A giggle then escaped the young-looking girl with the flowing pink-blonde hair in a left-side ponytail and the chestnut-brown eyes as she came up to join them. Gazing upon Benitsubasa Shizuka, Yashima was quick to see the ear-mounted wireless headset the so-called "Crimson Sekirei" of the current Disciplinary Squad was wearing, no doubt keeping her linked with her sister fighters Karasuba Romi and Haihane Mitsuki. As normal for the "fist sekirei" who was the heavy hitter of the current incarnation of MBI's special security squad, she was in her red-and-white-trimmed black kimono top with form-fitting black gym shorts underneath it, finger-less gloves protecting her hands. "Hey, Yōko!"

"Shizuka!" Yashima breathed out in relief, then she jolted as a groan escaped the woman in her arms. "Ashikabi-sama!" she gasped as she moved to comfort Della, her tears flowing in echo of the other woman's suffering.

Hearing that from the hammer fighter, Benitsubasa gaped. "Holy...! You, too?!"

"You desire one of Lady Cordelia's friends?" Mizuho asked. "I thought Master Natsuo was the one who winged you."

A conflicted look then crossed the slender woman's face. "He did! Not just me, but Mitsuki and Romi as well! But...!"

 _ **You will have to be re-winged sometime very soon, Benitsubasa Shizuka**_ , the Staff of Gihan then declared, its focusing crystal pulsing with its words. _**Your current bond with Ichinomiya Natsuo is not properly satisfying for your needs. While your sympathy for his recent loss of lover has earned you his respect, he is not prepared nor properly capable of reciprocating your feelings, much less the feelings of Karasuba Romi and Haihane Mitsuki. Once her mei'na has been placed in a proper organic body, Sylvia Chastity Floyd would make a much more agreeable ashikabi for you.**_

"Who spoke my name?!"

Benitsubasa blushed. "S-s-Sylvia-sama...!" she sputtered out.

A horse's hooves echoed with the sound of sparks on rock then heralded the arrival of Olivia Floyd's younger sister. Like the quartermaster sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons, the second corporal of the group was a blonde with blue-grey eyes, though she wore glasses and her hair was much straighter than Olivia's, flowing to the level of her breasts. As the blushing crimson sekirei shied away from the just arrived native of Pendleton, Sylvia Floyd was quick to dismount her nightmare, then walk over to where Yashima was kneeling and holding her friend. "What happened here, Miss Yōko?!" she demanded.

"Be careful in touching your friend, Lady Sylvia," Mizuho cautioned. "The foolish daēva who has been stalking the innocent Lady Yōko splashed Lady Cordelia with his own blood to force her to submit to his will in his quest to enslave Lady Yōko." As Sylvia gasped in horror, the would-be warrior-priestess held up her hand. "Be calm, my friend! Fortunately for you, the late Master Maimon made your replacement bodies strong enough to resist the lure of the blood of a normal man to some extent, thus making sure 'accidents' like this would not affect any of you more than necessary. Still, given Lady Yōko's needs..."

" _ **NO!**_ "

"Sylvia-sama!" Benitsubasa gasped.

The stagecoach owner's younger daughter had snap-drawn her sabre and was now aiming it right at Mizuho. "You won't do what that monster did to Mister Pratt and Miss Keeble!" she snarled, her fangs splaying and her eyes turning blood red as she allowed her vampire powers to come forth. "Do you think that you'll keep on getting away with this?! Forcing people to...!"

Her brain then caught up to her ears.

" _ **WHAT DO YOU MEAN PROFESSOR MISHNEH'S**_ **DEAD** _ **?!**_ "

"It's out in the American magical papers, Sylvia-sama."

Sylvia's head snapped over to let her see a sympathetic look on the face of her would-be lover. "What...?" she hissed out.

"He was killed at the orders of your own principal to ensure that you would not be made to turn against his dark cause, Lady Sylvia," Mizuho stated as she reached into her jacket to pull out a sheet of paper. As Sylvia's hypersensitive nose picked up the scent of Maimon Mishneh from that sheet, the would-be warrior-priestess handed it over. "I suggest you read it."

Sylvie lowered her sabre as she took the sheet with her free hand. Benitsubasa came over to take her would-be ashikabi's sword and restore it to its scabbard as the native of Pendleton opened the sheet to scan what was there. After a moment, her eyes returned to normal as tears formed, she shaking her head in disbelief as she felt her world crash down around her. "No...this can't be...!" she hissed out, ignoring Benitsubasa's move to comfort her with a warm hug.

"It is, Lady Sylvia," Mizuho calmly stated. "Both back during the horrid war between the states of your great union and today, you were just _**tools**_ for the daēva who still follow mad Sewell's idea of creating a 'nation of vampires' to use to bludgeon good people down so they could succeed and coat the world with death. Surely even _**you**_ must see the folly of that! Why do you think Master Abraham was so adamant on putting down Sewell's allies?! You had friends of colour back in those days, both freed and slave. Did they bring forth such a threat to your society that they had to pay in rivers of blood to put them down?!"

Her eyes narrowed as she advanced on Sylvia, making the stagecoach owner's daughter shudder as she felt that aura of cosmic power the would-be warrior-priestess from another dimension and time cloak her like the Shroud of Turin cloaked the body of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion. "Come now, Sylvia. Think it through! If Master Halbert knew you were alive all this time, why did he wait until NOW to bring you back?! In a time that clearly vexes your heart and soul in so many ways?! Does that not tell you something?! You acted for the noblest of reasons even if you didn't understand the horrid truth of that war! Why fight it now?! Why target my beloved?! You have seen what he did on the Ides of March! Do you really think all of you could target someone who is literally an angel of DEATH?!" She shook her head. "Someone who just saved your own sister from the same fate that daēva your beloved just crushed nearly unleashed on your friend here?" She waved to Della.

Sylvia blinked as her own vampire metasenses reached into Mizuho's mind to see what had just happened to Olivia through the would-be warrior-priestess' own mind-link to Moroboshi Ataru; to ensure that the stagecoach owner's younger daughter wouldn't assume she was being lied to, Mizuho didn't resist it. Noting what Ataru had done for Olivia when she had been enjoying a pleasant evening meal with that handsome Homura Yuki fellow she had been flirting with over the last couple of weeks, Sylvia then blushed on hearing his own comment after he nearly crushed the throat of Natsu Ayame's ashikabi echo in her own mind: " _ **That's not the way to treat a lady!**_ " Sensing the truth in those words, the stagecoach owner's daughter then gazed anew on the paper in her hand. Seeing that nice professor's words to the Friend of Dragons begging her to help restore the Anderson County Amazons back to true life leap out of that sheet, Sylvia shook her head before she gazed at Benitsubasa. Noting the slightly smaller girl give her a supportive smile, the stagecoach owner's younger daughter slowly nodded. "I'll have to show this to my commander, Miss Mizuho," she then warned as she gave the other woman an apologetic look.

"I'm here, Sylvia."

Everyone turned, then Mizuho nodded politely to the woman an inch shorter than Sylvia, dressed in a proper field uniform for a Confederate Army cavalry officer, a major's single gold star on her collars marking her honorary rank and her arms covered with the looped braid over her buff gold tunic cuffs for her rank and arm of service, her jacket buttons set in the proper two rows of seven evenly spaced buttons for a field officer. Her hair was a shocking bright red shade that hovered between that of blood and fresh cherries; it was now styled in two simple ponytails behind her ears. Her eyes were a dark blue-grey shade peeking out of a pale, innocent face. But when one looked deep into those eyes, one would realize immediately that Rachel Thornbridge of Anderson was far more knowledgeable about the arts of war than any teenager logically should be; she had just celebrated her fifteenth birthday when she surrendered her humanity in the name of Southern freedom from the North.

Glad that her commander was there, Sylvia gently kissed Benitsubasa on the lips, causing the sekirei to shudder as her tama flared at the back of her neck, then she walked over to her commander, paper in hand. "A deathbed letter from Professor Mishneh to Miss Inada concerning us, Major. Miss Inada wishes you to know its contents, with her compliments."

"Thank you, Corporal Floyd," Rachel said with proper dignity as she took the sheet in hand, then she opened it to read. Scanning through it, her eyes went wide before a look of cyclonic outrage crossed her face, those orbs turning blood red for a moment as an inhuman hiss escaped her. She then blinked again on seeing the final appeal Maimon Mishneh made to Inada Mizuho, then her eyes teared as they turned back to normal. Shaking her head, she reached into her jacket to draw out a simple rosary, one thing she could never carry with her as a vampire. Kissing the image of the Savior, she whispered an apology and prayer to the wonderful elderly man from Jonesboro who had given them all their lives back. She then folded the paper and slipped it into her jacket pocket before she straightened herself, properly saluting the beautiful lady of the cloth who had done so much good in the name of her version of God to protect all on two planets. "Miss Inada."

"Major Thornbridge," Mizuho said with a formal bow.

"My compliments to you and yours from Shiroiwa and Kōbe. While I'm not ready yet to deal directly with your husband as I don't know if what the news reports of your bonding with him are real or not, given what has just been said about Mister Moroboshi's defence of Quartermaster Sergeant Floyd from that slave catcher who imprisoned Miss Natsu, I can only extend my deepest thanks for his thoughtfulness and kindness. However, given the survival of your own class from that horrid _Program_ , I will be willing to meet your class leaders and the leader of Mister Kawada's class now in this dimension under flag of truce. Given that my people are now protecting two of Miss Benitsubasa's and Miss Yashima's brethren at this time..."

"Lady Kusano Kana and Young Master Sanzō Shiina, you mean?"

"Yes."

Mizuho nodded. "I'm sure my ashi'cha — which is Nakagawa Noriko, by the way — would be happy to meet with you and yours at your current encampment in Katsushika. Given how much your wonderful, noble and brave friend here now in Yōko's arms has been hurt by that slave catcher Shizuka just dealt with, may I take her to our place on the factory and see Master Maimon's wishes for you all done for her? One of your other privates, Dahlia Shore, was forced to endure a body swap on Thursday last because she accidentally swallowed the blood of my classmate Chigusa Takako." As Rachel and Sylvia gasped on hearing that, Mizuho smirked. "In saying that, I am pleased to note that Dally is now happily bonded to Kochō Akiko."

"Akiko's winged?!" Benitsubasa exclaimed as Yashima whooped in delight.

"Indeed she is! Even more so, while Master Henry Sturges is in country, so are Master Liam O'Connor and Mistress Evangeline McDowell. Would you feel comfortable in their attendance at this meeting in Mizumoto Park?" Mizuho then sighed. "If you wish, I could approach Master William Pratt and Lady Drusilla Keeble so they can attend that meeting as well."

Rachel blinked, then she nodded. "At noon tomorrow."

"Done! Come, my friend! 'Tis the Wise Lord's work to be done today!"

And with a flash of energy, Mizuho, Yashima and Della disappeared. Seeing them vanish like that, Rachel shook her head, suppressing a jolt of understandable fear on seeing such ungodly power displayed like that. She then sighed. "Shizuka, come with us, please," she bade Sylvia's would-be lover. "I need to learn of this incident Miss Inada was involved in on Kamikura Island six weeks ago that Kana and Shiina have spoken to me about. Much that she is a woman of the cloth..."

Benitsubasa smiled...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, near the Tomobiki Pizza Emporium, Tuesday 20 July, just after midnight...**_

His name was Mōri Mototsuku.

Currently, he was a second-year high school student attending the Sanrinbō Institute located in the heart of Higashikurume to Tomobiki's northwest. He had been forced to attend there after nearly dying at the hands of the monster that had lurked deep in Moroboshi Ataru's subconscious mind for a decade two years ago when he tried to kill the other boy for all his inappropriate behaviour when it came to their female classmates at Tomobiki Middle School. Personally, the tall and slender man with the scarred face framed by short-cut black hair and the brooding dark brown eyes didn't believe that Ataru had nothing to do with his nearly drowning in the Shakujii River near the end of spring term in 2009. There was no way in hell that bastard could have actually allowed something like that to take total control of him and turn him into something that would have made even Lǐ Xiǎolóng green with envy. No! There was no way he didn't know that he was being used that way to give that monster supposedly claiming she was _**Imperial Special Agent #49**_ of all people without his influencing it in some way.

No way in hell...!

"Oi! Mōri! Get your fucking head back in gear again!"

He jolted on hearing that snarled comment from one of his classmates, then he shook his head. "Sorry about that, man..."

"Chill, dude!" another of the Sanrinbō toughs who had been sent into Tomobiki at the orders of the school's unofficial student leader, Ogin Haneko, said with a knowing smile. "I know how much you want to put down that bastard Moroboshi for what he did to you before you went into high school. It'll come, dude. Don't you worry about that at all. It'll come."

"So why the fuck are we here again?" another man then asked.

"We're moving to make sure that no one here in town supports that bastard since he just got bonded to those two Shiroiwa girls," the leader of the gang, Sanada Genji, snapped. "Didn't you hear what Haneko-chan said before we came here?! If Moroboshi keeps his bonds to Inada and Noda, there's no controlling the bastard anymore! You know all the shit he's caused over the last year!" He nodded to Mototsuku in emphasis. "You want him to do that to anyone in the area, man?!"

The other boys nodded...

...before they perked on hearing gay laughter from nearby.

Turning to look, they gaped on seeing three girls in the nearly-black shipboard uniforms worn by Canadian military sailors, though they had Japanese flags on their left arms and the United Nations Earth Defence Force banner on their right arms. All three were now seated at one of the outdoor tables in front of the Tomobiki Pizza Emporium. One was a tall and seriously sexy brunette with ice blue eyes and a body that was curved and shaped enough to power over a _**month's**_ worth of wet dreams. One was a spiky, taller tomboy with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. The last was a shorter girl with a cute face framed by well-styled hair the shade of maple fudge and dark eyes that sparkled with a zest for love and fun. All of them had baseball caps with the name and hull number of Canada's first starship on the table beside them as they enjoyed a large supreme pizza, chatting away. As the toughs took in their measure, they were quick to see the name tapes on their jackets:

 **相馬  
** **SŌMA**

 **清水  
** **SHIMIZU**

 **矢作  
** **YAHAGI**

"Holy shit...it's really them...!" one of the Sanrinbō boys hissed out.

"Can't be them!" Mototsuku snarled. "There's no way in hell that you can actually shift a person's _**soul**_ between dimensions!"

"The skin-jobs can do some really freaky shit, man!" another of the group warned. "If that really IS Sōma Mitsuko, I wouldn't wanna rumble with her! Everyone knows how much of a psycho-bitch she really is deep down!"

"Fuck off, man!" Genji snapped. "They're pushovers...!"

"Hey, dickhead!"

The Sanrinbō gang gasped before they turned to look...

...then they gaped on seeing the small group of teenagers a little younger than they, now in Canadian naval combat dress, standing several metres away, all projecting dark looks at the visitors from Higashikurume...save for their obvious leader, a man with slicked-back black hair and the coldest eyes any of the toughs had ever seen on anyone! Seeing his nametag made Genji gulp as he realized these people were the members of the boy's gang from Shiroiwa, currently accompanied by friends.

"Are you attempting to threaten our classmates ?" Kiriyama Kazuo calmly asked.

"Oi! Kazu! Guys! 'Zumi! Girls! What's up?!"

Hearing Shimizu Hirono call out, the most successful player in their class' run through _The Program_ seemed to smile. "We're not too sure about that, Hirono," Kazuo calmly stated as Numai Mitsuru and Sasagawa Ryūhei both popped their knuckles in anticipation and Tsukioka Shō and Kuronaga Hiroshi both grinned as they gave the visitors from Higashikurume looks that indicated they didn't see the older boys as any threat at all. The visitors then paled as Kanai Izumi — who was standing immediately to Kazuo's right — unzipped her jacket to reveal the shoulder holster with a Lawgiver there; the look the first girl who had fallen to Kazuo in _The Program_ was now giving them was a cold smile that spoke volumes. The cute, effeminate boy and the three pretty girls standing close to Kazuo's subordinates all had pitying looks on their face, as if they KNEW that their current companions could take down all the Sanrinbō boys without any problem whatsoever. "Given their current state of agitation, I believe they are part of the group Mizuho warned us about who would disapprove of her marei'cha bond with Ataru, much less Satomi's bond with Ataru. Given how much he is doing for all of us right now..."

"That a fact?" Yahagi Yoshimi trilled as she unzipped her jacket to reveal her own holstered sidearm. "They wanna rumble?"

As Genji awked, Mototsuku snarled. "Why the hell are you people giving that bastard the time of day?!" the latter snapped. "You know what sort of asshole he is! Haven't you seen all the news about all the crap he caused...?!"

"Easily explained," Kazuo calmly cut him off. "Ataru was suffering from a minor case of multiple-personality disorder and was the mental host of two separate beings. He couldn't think truly for himself during that time..."

"That's a lie!"

" _ **YOU CALLIN' THE BOSS A LIAR, PUNK?!**_ "

That was a snarling Mitsuru, who looked ready to charge and rip the older boy apart with his bare hands for his disrespect. Mototsuku smirked. "Say you people really are who you say you are," he teased. "Why the hell are you still together with the guy who KILLED you on Oki-shima?! Don't you remember that?! How come you're backing him, much less Moroboshi?!"

Mitsuru smirked back. "Guess you didn't read the manga properly, jerk-face! The Boss didn't understand shit fuck all about emotions, no thanks to that jackass father of his, just letting him be raised by his servants while he chased pretty girls after losing his wife like that! We forgave the Boss a long time ago, Mōri!" As the other man gaped, the number two in Kazuo's group shook his head. "Mizuho-chan warned us about you! You fucking couldn't stand the fact that nice girls like Miyake and her friends wanted to have nothing to do with you, then thought you could KILL Ataru just to prove you were the better 'man'!"

"You didn't prove shit, asshole!" Ryūhei snarled as the members of Mitsuko's gang all rose from their chairs and moved to step out of the outdoor seating area for the Pizza Emporium to flank the visitors from Higashikurume from behind. "All you proved is how blind, dumb and deaf you are! You saw what Ataru did in the Ides of March, didn't you?!" He shook his head. "Oi! Mitsuko-chan! How would you view a guy like Ataru after he cleaned the clocks of those pirates?!"

"Easy, Ryūhei-kun!" Mitsuko coldly declared. "Ataru is all MAN, more man than all of you idiots combined!" She then purred as she licked her lips. "Believe me, when I slept with him this morning, he was definitely all man...HEY!"

That was thanks to a well-dressed man, who had nearly knocked the teacher's daughter down when he grasped her hands and tried to stare intently into her eyes, turning on the suave like he had done many times before with his female peers. "Mitsuko-san! You must reject Moroboshi!" Mendō Shūtarō nearly cried as he held her close. "You can't possibly think of considering a monster like HIM to be the father of your future children! He's a fool! He's an idiot! You'll have malformed children...!"

 _KLICK-KLACK!_

"You talking trash about MY man, rich boy?!"

Mendō gargled in horror on hearing the sound of a Peacemaker rifle's safety being disengaged and the first of five hundred rounds being loaded into the firing chamber, then he slowly turned to stare into the burning eyes of one Noda Satomi. "S-s-Satomi-s-s-san..." he sputtered out on seeing the gaping maw of that alien-built rifle now being pointed right at his face.

He then screeched as a hand snared him by the groin and squeezed very hard, nearly making him drop to his knees. "Holy shit, girls!" Mitsuko gasped in mocking disbelief. "They haven't even DROPPED yet!"

As Mendō sputtered in disbelief and outrage at such an insult to his manhood, all the people from Shiroiwa laughed...

...then they tensed on sensing something filled with darkness barely keeping down a cauldron of fighting rage from nearby.

"Now, friend! That's not being nice to the pretty lady there!"

The darkness between two streetlamps then melted to reveal a raven-haired horse with burning mane and an unearthly glow around its body standing on the street, it being ridden now by a slender girl with slightly tanned skin about Yoshimi's height, dressed in a grey jacket and butternut trousers, a dark grey kepi with a wreathed palmetto tree-and-crescent moon hat badge over her forehead. Seeing the look on the raven-haired woman with the glowing red eyes — they were normally dark brown — and the splayed fanged canines, the visitors from Higashikurume and Mendō all could only croak in horror on realizing something far darker than what Moroboshi Ataru could transform himself to had just come down on them today.

As for the people from Shiroiwa and their friends from Ziegler's Cove...

"Now that is one sexy lady!" Hirono purred in admiration.

"Hey, Boss! Is that Tabitha Walters?!" Hiroshi asked.

"It is she, Hiroshi," Kazuo stated before nodding to the stagecoach owner's daughter from Townville, acting as if encountering a woman born in 1847 and who fought as a vampire throughout the bloodiest stages of the secret side in America's civil war was as normal as taking a walk in the park. "Good evening, Lieutenant Walters. I trust it was a pleasant patrol."

Perking on hearing that very noticeably cold fellow's polite greeting, Tabitha nodded in return as her darker skin flushed lightly. "It was quiet...until I saw this stupid fool decide to go violate your pretty friend's personal space," she said as she nudged her nightmare closer to Mendō. As Satomi backed away to give the South Carolinian room, she pointed the tip of her sabre at the face of Japan's richest teenager. "Now, get your hands off Miss Mitsuko or I'm running you...!"

" _ **LAMIA AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

A bolt of green energy zeroed in from up the street right at Tabitha. Before anyone could react, the sabre swept around to deflect the killing curse coming her way from the man who just charged out of the shadows, sending the magic straight into the night sky. "Okay! Who just decided they wanted to stop _**breathing**_?!" the vampire-turned-war golem then snarled...

...before the charging wizard racing at her then found his neck impaled by Mitsuko's kama!

"Nicely flung, Mitsuko," Kazuo calmly observed.

As the hapless man collapsed to his knees, Mitsuko charged over to yank out her weapon from the sputtering wizard, then she swept the blade around. "Pity Mizuho-chan's not here to save your pathetic ass, _**staleblood**_!" she sweetly declared.

He snarled something incomprehensible out...

...before his head came off in one blow thanks to the lady called "Hardcore"!

"Shitfire...!" Tabitha gasped as her heart lurched at the sight of Mitsuko actually defending HER from some fool wizard...

* * *

 _ **Adachi, north of Toneri Park, that moment...**_

"You actually WANTED to bond with me?!"

Homura Yuki winced as he gazed upon Natsu Ayame, who was now as white as a sheet as she looked upon her new ashikabi. An ashikabi who shouldn't BE an ashikabi because of the simple fact that Kitano Yukiko had been born in an alternate DIMENSION, where sekirei and their descendants didn't exist! "H-hai!" the daughter of the vicar for the Halo Anglican Church in Takamatsu said as her cheeks flushed while she tried not to give to an understandable urge to drag off her new bond-mate somewhere private so she could ravage her to her heart's content. As Natsu flushed on sensing her new ashikabi's desire for her, Yukiko added, "We came here about eight weeks ago to spend a weekend exploring how this version of Japan developed after the Greater East Asia War. You'd just been let out of Kōtō to find your ashikabi. I saw you at the Akabane Market and felt it happen to me." She then gave her an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry I couldn't wing you at that time, but the others..."

"Did you tell anyone, Yukiko-san?!" Homura then asked. "Yumiko-san, maybe?"

"Yumi-chan knew. So did Mizuho-chan," Yukiko answered the master of fire, who was still relaxing alongside Olivia Floyd. Moroboshi Ataru was also there at the yatai enjoying a late night snack before he would head back to Tomobiki to sleep together with his bond-mates in their new bedroom after Inada Mizuho got done helping Della Burns regain her humanity and hopefully bond with Yashima Yōko. "But since we didn't know when we'd come down finally..."

The throwing knife specialist shuddered, her blue eyes tearing. "Yukiko-sama...!"

She then flung herself into Yukiko's arms, kissing her passionately. That caused Natsu's tama to flare brightly as her wings formed again behind her neck. Homura gasped as that aura of love nearly caused him to orgasm into his trousers. A tap on shiatsu points at the back of his neck managed to stave off that embarrassing accident in time. "Damn! Thanks, Ataru!"

"Anytime, Yuki!" Ataru said as he playfully winked at Homura. He always liked the fire master. Like the other "single number" sekirei, Homura Yuki was a powerful metahuman. A little _too_ powerful, which required he get himself winged as soon as possible lest his powers get out of control and he incinerated himself in a blaze of glory. That was what prompted Homura to adopt the alias "Kagari Yuki" and be a host at Club Spark, though his interactions with many dates hadn't cause a reaction. Like what was clearly happening now between himself and a certain stagecoach owner's daughter from South Carolina.

Once Olivia became human...

"Never thought aliens would even come _**here**_ of all places."

That was the yatai owner, a middle-aged man who had retired from working at Nissan to do something he always loved. "According to the Heavenly Sovereign, Oji-san, since their ship crash-landed in Japanese national territory, they're considered citizens of the nation," Ataru explained before he took a nibble of a stick of yakitori. "As the leaders of MBI were the ones who found them, they were charged by the Palace to help people like Yuki and Ayame-chan there better adapt to living in Japan. Save for this stupid 'game' that loon Minaka wants everyone to get involved in, it's gone good."

"Like _Battle Royale_ in a way?" the owner then asked Yukiko.

The vicar's daughter nodded. "Hai. And we're NOT going to let them play."

"Yo, Ataru!"

Ataru looked over. "Hey, Shōgo! Keiko-san!"

Gasps escaped the crowd as the star couple of Kōbe 2nd District Junior High School's Class 3-B in the 1999-2000 school year came up to join them. Both were now in the replica school uniforms prepared by Fujino Shigeki's fan club, Shōgo wearing a Shiroiwa gakuran even if Keiko was in her normal button shirt, vest sweater and plaid skirt. The Genesis Wand of Parah was in the only two-time _Program_ player's free hand. Cameras instantly came out to snap pictures of Kawada Shōgo and Inoue Keiko as they took their seats, then the yatai owner quickly took their order. "Everything okay back home?" Ataru asked.

"Yeah! Mizuho got Della-chan crossed over and she's resting up at the house now. She hasn't winged Yōko-chan just yet," Shōgo stated, making Olivia stiffen suddenly on hearing what just befell the farmer's daughter from Pendleton. He was quick to note that. "Livia-chan, you can't live in that body of yours forever. Ataru was able to save you from being enslaved by Ayame-chan's old ashikabi, but you can't depend on that type of luck all the time, you know..."

"Go easy on her, Mister Smug!" Keiko said as she gave him a fondly exasperated look. "She's been lied to ever since she was turned in the first place back in 1862. You can't expect her to accept it all at once, you know."

Olivia's cheeks flushed on hearing the book store owner's daughter from Kōbe say that. "You're too kind, Miss Keiko..."

"Still, Shōgo's right," Ataru calmly stated as he gave her a warning look. "You can't live like this anymore, especially now that the staleblood idiots in the Department of Magic know you're back on your feet. Tabitha-san just ran into a hit-wizard in Tomobiki." As Olivia gasped on hearing that, he winked at her. "Relax! Mitsuko-chan gave him a new mouth with her kama!"

"There's an actual department of MAGIC in America, Ataru-san?" a juken student seated nearby asked.

"In every country," Ataru answered. "Since 1692, there's been this treaty that's forced magicals to mask themselves from normal folk...but since the Avalonians came and the Steel Angels got back on their feet — never mind Thompkins-shōshō taking command of the Earth Defence Force — many have wondered why people still want to put in all the effort to keep magicals masked from normals. Memory-altering spells don't work on Avalonians or most other metahumans, so there's no hope of hiding themselves from people like me and the guys here." He indicated Shōgo, then Keiko, then Yukiko. "Most are pretty okay, but there are the few inbred 'stalebloods' who think they're the top of the food chain on Earth. Some don't care for the idea of people like Olivia-san here being back on her feet. That book about Abe-ojisan that just got out? It's real."

" _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter_?" another juken student gasped.

Ataru nodded. "Yep."

That made the other man gape in disbelief. "Is Lincoln-daitōryō still alive?!"

"Yep. All thanks to Onē-san's delightful 'grandfather' in fact."

Silence.

"Von Taserich-taishō?!" a young woman gasped, making Ataru smirk as putting-it-together looks appeared on people's faces. No matter how much magicals would have wished it otherwise, the infamy of the Undying Lord was known worldwide.

"Hai! But don't call Ojii-san a 'general'. He was a cavalry captain; that 'general' crap was something the SS forced..."

" _ **OBLIVIATE!**_ "

A flash of bright magical energy moved to swamp over everyone, causing the Genesis Wand to flare brightly and create a bubbly field around it, making the memory-altering magic unleashed by the scowling woman who had just stepped out of the shadows disintegrate. Noting her clothing — which seemed more proper for the 1920s and not the modern age — Homura snarled as he unleashed a blast of flame at her, causing the hit-witch to scream as she moved to shield herself.

The flame was instantly cleaved in half by a woodsman's axe!

"That's enough!"

Hearing that statement in Japanese heavily flavoured by a Midwest American twang, people spun around to look...

"Mister Lincoln!" Olivia croaked in disbelief.

Gasps of shock and awe filled the crowd as people gazed upon the tall man in funeral black with an ascot hat on top of his head. Noting how young he looked now, many of them could only shake their heads on recognizing the craggy features of the sixteenth president of the United States of America even if he didn't support the chin beard he had worn when he lived in the White House and now looked like he was thirty at the most. As Olivia shook her head on sensing the aura of deep melancholy that clouded this frontier lawyer's heart, Abraham Lincoln sighed as he lowered his weapon. "Now, young lady, may I ask why is it you were ready to unleash a massive Statute breech here by using that spell?" he asked, gazing at the hit-witch. "The Department of Magic has no authority here. If there was a problem, you'd speak to the Kantō Magical Association."

"There are laws here, Mister President!" she snapped. "Not even those skin-jobs have the right to override those laws, sir!"

As Homura and Natsu both hissed in outrage on hearing that common insult given to Avalonians, Lincoln shook his head. "Madame, who was it that hired you?" he then asked as he focused his hazel eyes on her, fixing her in place with that look. "I know for the fact that there was no authorization given by the Magical Congress to track down the members of Quartermaster Sergeant Floyd's company. If such had happened, I would have been informed of it immediately..."

"So you could get your successor to use a Magical Executive Order to force the Magical Congress down?!" the hit-witch snapped even if her voice was now noticeably wavering as the aura of raw power the nigh-immortal vampire hunter welded overwhelmed her senses. "No! You no-majs won't do that to us anymore! We won't let you get away with this...!"

She then screamed as her mage-senses nearly overloaded from the aura of cosmic power projecting from the device in Shōgo's hand. "You shut your damned mouth, you little inbred hick!" the doctor's son from Kōbe snarled. "Cut it out with that 'high moral' position of yours! You all RAN AWAY and HID yourselves from the normals because you knew normals were catching up to you all socially and technologically even back in the Seventeenth Century! You couldn't hack the fact that they would soon find no need for idiots like you anymore, so you pretended you were 'helping' them by hiding yourselves! And you WONDER why is it people don't care for that pathetic attitude when they're forced to deal with idiots like you?!"

"Wh-wh-what IS th-that...?" she sputtered in horror.

Shōgo smirked. "Do it."

 _ **Done, Controller.**_

A flash of energy then appeared to the street to his left...

...allowing a bioroid gestation unit to appear, the fluids within it boiling as the DNA-carving matrices within that orange gelatin-like liquid moved to complete the necessary work to make the incomplete being within a living and breathing creature. After a minute, the fluids then began to cool down, revealing the just-completed body of a teenage blonde American woman, one whose looks that made the crowd watching this gasp on recognizing this to be the clone body of the woman from South Carolina currently seated at the yatai. Once the gestation fluid was drained out in the storage tanks, the chamber itself opened, allowing the newly-templated bioroid to be telekinetically drawn out. A small diagnostic bed then appeared, where the bioroid was then placed on as the gestation capsule was teleported back to Gestation Tower #98 on the factory.

"My God..." Olivia gasped...

...before she jolted as Homura croaked in pain, he collapsing to his knees. "Yuki!" she screamed out as she moved to comfort him while the yatai owner moved to prepare some cold water to help the master of fire calm down.

"Damn!" Shōgo hissed. "She really IS his ashikabi!"

" _ **WHAT?!**_ "

That was a white-faced Olivia. "The bond is based on the compatibility of your blood to his own, Miss Floyd," Lincoln stated. "You have to become an Avalonian and bond with him quickly. If he loses control, he could immolate this whole neighbourhood!" He then gave her an apologetic look. "I'm truly sorry, Livia. I know you have every right to hate me..."

She blinked as she took that in, then she lightly smiled. "Bobbie Jenkins always said you were good folk, Mister Lincoln..."

" _ **NO! LAMIA AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

Lincoln's meson-coated axe blade instantly deflected that killing curse before Yukiko's snap-drawn Lawgiver sent a stun shot right into the witch's face, sending her careening into the very same telephone pole Natsu's old ashikabi had been slammed into by Ataru earlier. Natsu was on her feet right away, quickly drawing one of her knives and lunging over to snare the witch's wrist, twisting that hard to make her drop her wand. As the attacker groaned in pain from that blow to her forehead, Natsu sliced the wand in half; she knew that most wand-magicals trained in the European schools were not really knowledgeable in what was often called "wandless magic". Seeing that the woman who had just tried to kill her was now down, Olivia blinked before she gazed on the clone body just made for her by Kawada Shōgo. Indecision then seized her...

 _ **You must complete the soul-shift, Olivia Barbara Floyd**_ , the powerful voice of the Genesis Wand then echoed over the scene, causing all the people to gasp. _**If you do not, Homura Yuki will lose all control over his powers within minutes and self-immolate. All you must do is touch your new body and the tre'cha will occur.**_

Recognizing that alien word as the term Avalonians used to describe that incredible soul-shifting capability of theirs — the one thing many on Earth still found trouble comprehending even if many of them often made the comparison between the concept of tre'cha and what Spock had done at the climax of the second _Star Trek_ film to save his soul from death while helping the starship _Enterprise_ escape the Genesis Device — the stagecoach owner's daughter gulped before she moved over.

Once her fingers touched the bioroid's flesh...

" _ **LAMIA AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

Another bolt of magic lashed down towards her, causing Shōgo to spin around and use the Genesis Wand to deflect the killing curse from a middle-aged man now standing on a nearby rooftop. Keiko was moving at the same time, drawing her own Lawgiver and aiming on target. "Heavy stun: Staleblood idiot on the roof!" she screamed.

" _Heavy stun: Staleblood idiot on the roof!_ " the pistol's computer chanted out.

As Lincoln laughed in delight on hearing that, the bolt of energy lashed out, racing at speeds the hapless man couldn't comprehend fast enough to try to apparate or portkey to safety. He was struck in the chest, which caused him to literally float in the air for a moment, then he dropped like a broken marionette onto the roof. Fortunately, his body didn't stumble off the roof even as his jerking hand let go of his wand. As a couple of the juken students who saw this ran over to get that weapon, Olivia seemed to cry out as the sensation of falling over Niagara Falls befell her, her soul being yanked into her new body as her golem body disintegrated, its work done and the child's heart it had safely borne within it for a month now truly safe to live her life. That allowed her empty street clothes to collapse into a heap on the street as the bioroid's eyes snapped open, they glowing the orange-red of the gestation fluid that created it before they turned blood red as her vampire powers came roaring to the surface. With a scream of rage, she leapt off the bed and charged at the war-witch that tried to kill her. Grabbing her by the neck, the quartermaster sergeant of the Amazons ignored the storm of confused memories that began to bombard her mind from that contact as her own fangs splayed out before she spun the witch around, then bit hard into her shoulder!

The witch screamed in frightened agony as she felt something similar to a Legilimency probe rip into her mind like a relentless New England tide, then she collapsed unconscious as the overwhelming nature of what befell her became too much to take. Olivia pulled away, a small sprinkle of blood escaping her lips as she threw the witch aside, then she shook her head. Keiko was at immediately her side, offering a cloth for her to clean herself up with. Noting that, the stagecoach owner's daughter from Pendleton smiled her thanks as she moved to wipe her face down. "You're too kind, Miss Keiko," she demurely said.

"Ollie...!"

Olivia's head snapped over, then she gasped. "Yuki!"

The whole air around the master of fire was now boiling with torrents of ki escaping every pour on his body. As his clothes began to smoke, the quartermaster sergeant raced over to draw him into her arms. "Don't you fret..."

Their lips then collided in a passionate kiss...

...allowing a blazing aura of power to escape Homura as his wings formed!

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) The **Tōkyō Gaikan Expressway** is a metropolitan ring road that circles around the northern districts of the capital city. In real life, the expressway starts in Nerima at the Kan'etsu Expressway exit at the Ōizumi Junction (I set the Tendō dōjō from _Ranma 1/2_ in the area) and goes in a loop route all the way to the Higashi-Kantō Expressway in the city of Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture east of Tōkyō proper. In real life, there have been plans to extend the Tōkyō Gaikan Expressway south from Nerima to hook up with the **Chūō Expressway** (to Aichi Prefecture via an inland route) and the **Tōmei Expressway** (to Aichi via a coastal route through Nagoya), but nothing has been done to complete the route. In the universe of this story, the expressway was fully completed with the help of Avalonian-Japanese construction workers to help improve transportation around Tōkyō.

2) _Sekirei_ character notes:

 **Kochō Akiko** (Sekirei #22) was first introduced in the manga story "Seeds of Conflict" (manga chapter #58) alongside **Katsuragi Hisako** (Sekirei #86). In the manga, both were winged to **Kakizaki Kenji** (his given name is my invention), who was chief of staff to the "East Ashikabi", **Higa Izumi**. As I set this story a couple years before the storyline of the _Sekirei_ manga, neither Kochō nor Katsuragi are bonded with Kakizaki at this time, nor are they affiliated with Higa or his corporation. As noted before, Kochō is a "brain sekirei" with technopathic and technokinetic abilities. Katsuragi is the sekirei equivalent of a power fighter; she is nicknamed a "foot sekirei" and can go toe-to-toe with anyone else possessing superhuman strength.

 **Musubi Ayako** (Sekirei #88) is the lead female star of the manga and anime. She first appeared in the opening story, "Sekirei" (manga chapter #1). She possesses superhuman strength, though she is seen as a "fist sekirei", more capable with her hands and arms than her legs. In the universe of this story, given the powerful outside influence on how the sekirei were raised by MBI, Musubi would train on Kamikura-jima to better master their abilities alongside many others of her general metahuman power set such as Katsuragi, so these girls would be far more familiar with each other than what the manga depicted.

 **Yashima Yōko** (Sekirei #84) was, in the manga, an abused woman thanks to her ashikabi **Tanigawa Jun'ichi**. Possessing superhuman strength and the ability to use a "gravity hammer" in battle, she was a meek girl whom I believed deserved way better than dealing with someone who belittled her all the time. She first appeared in the manga story "The Case of Little Sister Sahashi, Part 2" (manga chapter #25).

 **Natsu Ayame** (Sekirei #72) appeared at the start of the manga story "Sekirei Dance" (manga chapter #28). She was put down by **Uzume Sayori** (Sekirei #10) at the behest of Higa Izumi. Natsu's ashikabi's name was never revealed in the manga.

 **Homura Yuki** (Sekirei #6), also know as "Kagari Yuki", is one of the main stars of the series; s/he first appeared in the manga story "The Door to a New Residence" (manga chapter #5). In the manga, a running joke about Homura is that one doesn't realize what sex s/he is; at first behaving and being a boy, s/he eventually transformed into a girl when s/he began to react to the one fated to be his/her ashikabi, **Sahashi Minato**. Since I'm not forcing the sekirei through a harem-type situation in this story, I won't put Homura through that and I got him bonded to a girl, so questions about his gender won't be an issue here.

 **Benitsubasa Shizuka** (Sekirei #105) is one of the youngest of the Kamikura-jima flock. She is a very powerful physical fighter on part with the likes of Musubi and Katsuragi. A running joke with this girl is the fact that she is still at the body development of a young teenage girl; she is constantly ribbed by her co-worker **Haihane Mitsuki** (Sekirei #106) about her lack of "talent" all the time. Along with the only member of the MBI Disciplinary Squad that served in all its incarnations, **Karasuba Romi** (Sekirei #4), Benitsubasa is currently winged to a clerk in the company's pharmaceutical division, **Ichinomiya Natsuo**.

The others of the group mentioned here will be introduced in future chapters.

3) _Negima_ character note: **Karakuri Chachamaru** (Mahora Girls Academy Junior High Class 3-B Student #10) is a gynoid that was constructed to serve as **Evangeline McDowell** (Student #26) by classmate **Hakase Satomi** (Student #24) and most likely the time-travelling so-called descendant of **Negi Springfield** , **Chāo Língyīn** (Student #19); note that the name of the latter student was mistranslated as "Língshēng" in the _Negima_ manga and never corrected. In the universe of this story, when Evangeline was freed by Moroboshi Negako of the _**Infernus Scholasticus**_ ("School Hell") curse put on her years before by Negi's father **Nagi Springfield** , then transformed into an Avalonian to free her of immortality and allow her to be a true adult in body, Chachamaru took the chance to become totally organic. She is not as magically powerful as her mistress, but Chachamaru can easily hold her own against most attackers. These days, she serves as Evangeline's lady-in-waiting.

4) Translation list: **Jinki** — Literally "god vessel"; **Lǐ Xiǎolóng** — The screen name of the famous martial arts master/actor known to the West as **Bruce Lee** (1940-73); **Lamia Avada Kedavra** — A variation of the **Killing Curse** specifically meant to target the undead ("lamia" is derived from Greek myths, depicting a monster that devours children).

5) The birth name of **Lucien LaCroix** (from _Forever Knight_ ) was never revealed, so I followed the tradition many fanfic writers did and gave him the _nomen_ (Roman clan name) "Divius" from his daughter Divia. His _cognomen_ (sub-clan name) "Gallus" is taken from the fact that as a general of the Roman Empire, the elderly vampire had campaigned in Gaul (modern France).

6) _Yatsura_ character note: **Ogin Haneko** and the **Sanrinbō Institute** first appeared in the anime episode "Goodbye Season" (anime episode #64). Haneko (the given name is my invention) is the leader of Mendō Shūtarō's town-wide fan club, the **Rosebuds**. The anime episode is an expanded version of the manga story "Ataru Calls It Quits" (manga chapter #61).


	3. A Gate into the Night

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, two hours after midnight...**_

"So you finally bagged her, huh?!"

Kitano Yukiko gasped on hearing that, then she flustered before she gazed upon the man she had possessed a long crush on in a much more innocent age back in another dimension and years back in time. "Shūya-kun...!"

Nanahara Shūya chuckled as he came over to warmly embrace his classmate. "The old man told us what happened to you and Ayame-chan," the would-be rock guitarist and orphaned son of a hidden resister to the Greater East Asia Republic said as he kissed her forehead, making the vicar's daughter blush. "Heard they managed to save one of Dally-chan's friends, too."

"Hai! She's the older of the sisters, Livia Floyd," Yukiko stated as she sat down on the bed in one of the new "couple rooms" placed around the meeting hall on the road allowance of Nishi-Teibō 10-dōri just north of the old house that sat across Kita-Teibō 4-dōri from the front door of the original Moroboshi home. "She even winged Homura Yuki-kun. From what Negako-sensei said, Yuki-kun was having a tonne of trouble trying to control his powers, so the sooner he got winged, the better."

Shūya nodded, a light smile crossing his face. Like all the others from Shiroiwa and Kōbe in another dimension and time, he had been thoroughly briefed on the sekirei by Inada Mizuho on Friday morning after their friends from Ziegler's Cove on Phentax Two had been reborn as Avalonians. He had to personally admire a man like Homura Yuki, who had risked his life to keep the unwinged "feathers" in his flock safe from potential poachers like Yashima Yōko's would-be ashikabi Tanigawa Jun'ichi even when the fire master himself had problems controlling his own abilities. Now that the male escort for Club Spark was properly bonded to Olivia Floyd, he could better concentrate on finding a way to totally derail that crazy "sekirei plan" which was WAY too close to _The Program_ in general concept for the Shiroiwa and Kōbe crowd to accept up front.

And with the Anderson County Amazons soon to join in on it...

A knock echoed from the doorway, making the two reborn middle school seniors turn as Shūya's would-be lover Tsukamoto Katako leaned in. A pale-skinned girl with short-cropped black hair and eyes the shade of chocolate, the fisherman's daughter from Phentax Two born Kokat dai-Kamoron had been interested in playing guitar since childhood. When he had been reborn aboard the _Shiroiwa Express_ over a month before, Shūya had fallen under Katako's wing as she moved to correct his shoddy self-teaching and start to rock like the experts he emulated when he lived in the Charity House. They had been lovers until her being infected by Hifuto forced her into isolation; once she endured her body swap, the amateur guitarist was more than happy to offer herself body and soul to the male survivor of the Shiroiwa class' run through _The Program_. "Hey!" she called out. "Lincoln-daitōryō wants to talk to us all about those hit-wizards that are chasing down Dally-chan and all her friends."

Shūya and Yukiko nodded. Both followed Katako out of the Martello tower-like "couple room" now set aside for the smaller of the two "conscientious objectors" to _The Program_ and her new bond-mate Natsu Ayame, heading into the common room before they walked into the private meeting hall set flush to the north side of the memorial lighthouse tower placed in the physical centre of the expanded Moroboshi property. It was a considerable crowd waiting for them. _Program_ players from both Shiroiwa and Kōbe in either their replica school uniforms or the Canadian Forces naval combat dress issued to them when they had been aboard _Haida_...save, of course, for Inada Mizuho in her totally white Shintō shrine miko robes. Moroboshi Ataru and his sister Moroboshi Negako. Several of the Anderson County Amazons in their field uniforms or in the modern Army Combat Uniform that had been issued to Dally Shore. The sekirei now bonded or would soon be bonded to their ashikabi, all in normal civilian clothes. Three elder vampires-turned-Avalonians, all of whom had grim looks on their faces. One half-Italian representative of the Kantō Magical Association. Evangeline McDowell's primary assistant, the magical gynoid-turned-bioroid student mage Karakuri Chachamaru. And one nigh-immortal former president of the United States of America.

"That bad, huh?" Shūya quipped.

Laughter filled the room as Mimura Shinji and Kuninobu Yoshitoki both flashed their friend two thumbs up. As Shūya, Yukiko and Katako took their seats, Lincoln could only sigh. "A pity we can't be this gay and happy all the time."

"So what in God's name started this, Mister Lincoln?!" Annabelle Maxwell then hotly demanded. The small group of Amazons who had been camped out at Hōya Airfield Park to do reconnaissance of Tomobiki over the last two weeks had been contacted by Negako and invited to come in under "flag of truce" to discuss the situation that just befell Tabitha Walters near the Pizza Emporium nearly two hours ago. "Those wizards we fought at Rocky Face Ridge all couldn't be alive these days unless they were turned or made like you! Why on Earth would they want to come after us now after all these years?!"

"They're afraid of you and what you represent, Captain Maxwell," the former lawyer grimly answered, shaking his head. Sensing the deep turmoil of emotions boiling in his heart, everyone could only wince as they tried to understand how he was feeling in the wake of such a show of insanity by the hit-wizards encountered by the Amazons and their companions this very evening. "You never really realized how traumatic the whole damned war was to America's magical population. Yes, all of them were very much pro-Union; those who directly served my office as magical federal marshals had to take oaths on their magic to serve both the normal and magical sides to the Constitution before they were given their badges. Very few were sympathetic to what Mister Davis was trying to create in Richmond, especially when Mister Sewell's involvement became known. But once the Department of Magic swung into fully supporting our efforts to put Sewell down, his supporters deliberately went out to target magicals, both white and coloured, to eliminate them and deny the Union the power necessary to destroy them. A lot of magical families haven't forgotten about that, even now when most veterans of that war are either elderly or deceased. They see your return as a heralding of return of the dark times that war represented to their ancestors."

"Like what happened when that Voldemort polecat came back to give the lobsterbacks hell a decade ago, you mean?" Tabitha Walters snarled as she crossed her arms, the anger she felt at being attacked by a hit-wizard boiling deep in her heart.

"'Lobsterbacks'?!" Sōma Mitsuko asked.

"The stupid English, Mitsuko."

People perked on noting no honorific had been used with the former teenage prostitute's name. "Effectively yes, Lady Tabitha," Mizuho coolly declared. "While Master Maimon's intentions towards you and yours were honourable in the extreme, the fact that he was willing to create _**war golem**_ bodies means that someone else could do the same and bring back those believe to have 'fallen' during the Late Unpleasantness and launch a repeat of that daēva-accursed time on all Americans. Atop that, the division between those who are descent of long magical lines — 'stalebloods' as many who don't care for them nickname them — and those who are more happy to accept normal, metahuman and Avalonian within the great Union is still profound. Fears that erupted years ago thanks to the constant imposition of Mistress Emily Rappaport's ill-thought law in 1790 to prevent mass exposure of America's magicals to their normal population boils in many people's hearts." She sighed. "Sadly, the presence of our adopted sisters in that great land hasn't done much to alleviate those fears. The fools that want to see a return of that useless law with its harshest imposition as it was done between the Panic of 1914 and the beginning of America's involvement of the Greater East Asia War will not stop until their cause is won and all are made to submit to them."

"Hold up here, Mizuho-san!" Ichikawa Mariko, the chubby psychologist's daughter from Kōbe listed as Girl #3 in her class, said as she waved her hand. "Not all of us have a clear understanding of magical history. What does that mean?"

"Allow me to explain, Miss Ichikawa," Lincoln said...

* * *

 _ **An hour after dawn...**_

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Nah! Had the damned nightmare again...!"

Hearing that moaned voice from nearby, Moroboshi Ataru perked before he looked over; he had just stepped out of his bedroom to get a glass of water before he would return to the side of his bond-mates and continue to get some wonderful exercise. "You girls okay?" he wondered as he moved to join the pretty Kōbe girls who had come into the main recreation hall to relax themselves on a couch. Quickly recognizing them, he sighed. " _The Program_?" he calmly asked.

They gazed at him, friendly smiles crossing their faces. All were in sleep shirts; the Kōbe girls and the Shiroiwa boys would be spending the next week shopping to get decent wardrobes so they could dress in things other than naval combat dress or replica school uniforms. "Hai, Ataru-kun," Sakakibara Mio stated. Listed as Girl #10 in her class, she was a curvy woman at Sōma Mitsuko's scale with chestnut hair combed over the left side of her face, that pierced with dark brown eyes. "Can't put behind all the shit Ducks did to us when we were 'playing'." She then grinned as her friend Hayashi Kozue (Girl #16) reached over and casually embraced her from one side. "Hey! Kozue...!" she moaned out before they shared a kiss.

"Nightmares?"

All four turned to see a woman in a dated button shirt and butternut trousers standing there, a concerned look on her face. "Belle-chan," Fujiwara Harumi (Girl #19) called out on recognizing the Amazons' second-in-command.

"Sleep well, Annabelle-san?" Ataru gently asked.

The deacon's daughter from Pendleton gave him a slightly wary look, though she was polite enough to answer. "I'm used to getting little sleep, Mister Ataru. As you and Miss Negako both will know, one hardly does sleep when one is a vampire; it's more of a type of meditation when we get tired than anything else." Annabelle Maxwell then looked around. "Much that I don't want to bother you people, but has anyone seen Tabitha anywhere? I'm getting everyone up..."

He nodded upstairs and to the north. "She's with Mitsuko-chan right now, Annabelle-san." Sipping the water from his cup, he sighed. "You understand anything at all about magical life debts and all that?"

"Not really," the girl with the long dark brown hair in a simple ponytail and the light grey eyes behind reading glasses affirmed.

Hearing that, Ataru felt a frustrated scream about to surge up from his throat. As he again cursed the idiots that forced Belle and her friends into this mad situation, he waved her to follow him to the stairs up to the second floor. Curious about what was happening now with the Amazons' second lieutenant, the Kōbe girls got up to follow them. "Even if you can't do spells, you're magical to a certain extent either as a vampire or a war golem," he explained. "Magicals long ago realized there's a power — in effect, it's manipulating the Te'a we Avalonians can sense — that influences people whenever someone saves another person's life. That's called a 'life debt'. Because Mitsuko-chan saved Tabitha-san's life early this morning by killing that hit-wizard when he tried to kill her, she's now going to feel pulled towards Mitsuko-chan as a way of settling the debt."

Belle paled. "She won't enslave her, will she?!"

This was horrible!

Tabitha was their best fighter bar none!

"No, Mitsuko-chan wouldn't do that!" he affirmed with a chuckle as the door to his bedroom opened to reveal a curious Inada Mizuho, she draped in her kimono top, which didn't cover those wonderful legs of hers. As Belle flustered madly on seeing such a provocative display from the would-be warrior-priestess, Ataru chuckled. "Belle-chan, relax! That's not seen as sinful these days! Besides, given that she's effectively one of my wives now, I've seen much more than just that from her!"

"And I want you to see it all as soon as possible, Beloved!" Mizuho teased, making the deacon's daughter fluster even more. "Apologies, Lady Annabelle. We know how difficult it is for you to adjust to this time period. We mean you no harm by it. Still, we ourselves have had to take time to adjust to the different circumstances that we were brought into when good Shigeki effectively prompted our being saved from Oki-shima." She nodded politely to the three Kōbe girls. "And Kōbe as well."

"We sure aren't complaining, Mizuho-chan," Kozue said with an amused chuckle. Another very beautiful girl in her class, the daughter of a junior executive for Mitsubishi's armament works in the capital of Hyōgo Prefecture possessed something of a snobbish look on her face, that framed by shaggy hair the shade of maple fudge and pierced by very cunning dark blue eyes. "You shouldn't either, Belle-chan. I saw Yūko-chan giving you some pretty intensive stares at the meeting this morning."

"Girls!" Ataru snapped as Belle flustered.

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then...

"Miss Yūko wants to court me...?"

Eyes locked on Belle, who was now blushing madly as a mixture of trepidation and anticipation filled her heart. Remembering how happy both Dally Shore and Livia Floyd had been being bonded to Kochō Akiko and Homura Yuki, the deacon's daughter then blinked as she imagined Sakaki Yūko behaving that way to her. Knowing the girl was herself an Anglican made it a lot easier for Belle to accept being courted that way by the daughter of a mid-level prefecture government official, but given that such "Boston marriages" had been totally unknown throughout the South before the Late Unpleasantness...

"I don't want to enslave her!"

The others gave her knowing looks. "'Tis not enslavement, Belle," Mizuho said as she wrapped an arm around the other girl's before they walked down the hallway to the north-side recreation room annex where the connecting bridges to the private couple quarters were located. Sōma Mitsuko had taken over the second one to the east of the annex, just north of where Kitano Yukiko and Natsu Ayame were now sleeping. "'Tis simply God indicating to Yūko that she has found the one with whom she wishes to spend the rest of her life with. It is tradition enforced by eighty millennia of evolution on lost Sagussa which was carried over by the bioroid factory to be gifted to all of us. Aye, it was tradition for people of the same sex to become marei'cha, but as you can see with Beloved, Satomi and myself, cross-gender marei'cha is possible as well. Maybe when you truly embrace a proper organic body again, you may not feel that urge with Yūko. It may be someone else. We'll be bringing the boys of Shōgo's old class through the Te'a from when and where they fell during the _Program_ soon enough. I've seen images of them all. Many are quite handsome fellows. Perhaps one of them might be your husband one of these days." As Belle's cheeks reddened to the equivalent of an ironclad's magazine about to explode, the would-be warrior-priestess winked. "I even know one of Master Yuki's brother sekirei is still unwinged. Given you also have ashikabi blood in you..."

Belle flustered. "I don't want to be seen as a tart!"

"You're not a rowdy girl, Belle!"

Everyone jolted, then they turned...

...before Belle ducked away from Sakaki Yūko's stare. "Miss Yūko..."

"Go easy on her, Yūko-chan," Ataru gently cautioned.

Hearing that from him, the prefecture official's daughter blinked before she sighed, then she walked over to stand close to the deacon's daughter from Pendleton. That made Belle fluster more before she blinked as Yūko gently grasped her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. The South Carolinian found herself gazing into the other girl's eyes, her own empathy reaching out to probe deeply into Yūko's mind to see her own memories of those dark events on Oki-shima. The mortal terror she had felt for years seeing rowdy boys and girls fight each other all the time, forcing her to seek solstice with a psychologist to help better survive such an environment. The initial panic on learning she had been forced to kill or die, which turned into all-out terror on seeing Nanahara Shūya accidentally kill Oki Tatsumichi in the fields of Oki-shima. How her dread of "rowdy boys" made her move to poison the stew her friends made in the lighthouse to kill Shūya...which ended up killing Nakagawa Yūka instead, thus provoking the massacre thanks to Noda Satomi. And how, after all her friends had been rendered corpses, Yūko then realized what she had done, electing at the end to atone as was seen as proper in her own culture for her actions...

...to be reborn in something that was magical in so many ways.

"Yūko..."

Before Yūko could react, Belle reached over to gently draw the slightly smaller girl into her arms. "Don't you fret..." the deacon's daughter whispered as Mizuho pulled away. "Don't you fret. I'll keep the mean boys away..."

"What's going on?"

Heads turned...

...then Belle gasped in disbelief at the current state of her friend. "Tabitha Marcy Walters!" she shrilled out as the Kōbe girls all gave the stagecoach owner's daughter from Townville wolf whistles. "Put some clothes on, for God's sake!"

Tabitha smirked. She was now dressed in one of Sōma Mitsuko's spare sleep shirts, the front opened to reveal her quite slender body with no undergarments shielding her groin or her quite small yet perky breasts. Noting with a touch of personal disappointment that Ataru had averted his eyes from such a sight, the Amazons' resident wild child chuckled. "Relax, Belle! It ain't like Ataru's never seen naked girls before, especially with how much I can feel he loves to bed both Mizuho and Satomi like he does!" She then leaned up to gaze into Ataru's face, making him jerk at her close presence. "Not to mention how much you just made Mitsuko the happiest girl on the planet. I may not want to share her with Yūichirō and Junko, but you'll be taking MY maidenhead soon enough, Mister Moroboshi." She jabbed him in the shoulder, which made him gape at her, though he did his best to not stare down at the exposed parts of her body. "Bet on it, buddy..."

He sighed. He really DIDN'T need to put up to this sort of thing. "Tabitha..."

"Did Mitsuko do this for you, Tabitha?"

Eyes locked on Mizuho, then people gazed once more on Tabitha. Belle's nose then flared on picking up a familiar mineral water-like scent from the second lieutenant of their squad. "Tabitha...why...?"

"Don't get me wrong, Belle," the just-transformed stagecoach owner's daughter then coldly said. "I won't apologize for all the Yankees and niggers I killed back in the war. I sure as hell don't care for no nigger being a PRESIDENT of all things even if I'm part-Cherokee myself. But there's no way in heck that I'm going to let that silver-tongued bastard Golden think he can play around with MY life and make me do things that I might not wanna do, especially against someone like Mitsuko!"

"They'll never betray your trust, Tabitha-vayae..."

Tabitha turned to see her new lover standing nearby, dressed the same way as she. As Belle flustered further on seeing that Mitsuko wasn't moving to cover herself — not to mention felt a little jolt of jealousy of the fact that the former prostitute's ample breasts were far better developed than her own — the stagecoach owner's daughter chuckled as she walked over to warmly hug the other girl, gazing slightly down into Mitsuko's blue eyes. "You're nobody's whore, Mitsuko. If that son of a bitch who thought he could step into the place of a decent man like your pa was still alive, I'd be putting him through things that not even all the niggers I killed back in the war ever went through. That skank ma of yours as well, not to mention all the idiots that didn't pick up on what was going on with you when you were going to school. When we get your cousin and all the others who went through that garbage over here, we're gonna go ride through this 'harmonious republic' that you were born in and put them all to the sword. Let's see how THEY like dealing with being the _**hunted**_ instead of the hunters!"

"I take it she's part of the gang now. Eh, Mitsu?"

Mitsuko turned to smile as both Shimizu Hirono and Yahagi Yoshimi came up to join them. They had slept in the former house that had been sighted directly in front of the original Moroboshi home at the northwest corner in the block of Tomobiki 4-chōme 6-ban; many of the still-single Shiroiwa girls had camped out there. Like Mitsuko, they were dressed in sleep shirts that wonderfully showed off their teenage assets to all interested in seeing them. "Of course she is, Hirono," the teacher's daughter meowed playfully before she leaned in to kiss Tabitha on the lips. As Belle continued to fret at the sight of her friend being so openly passionate in public and being so scandalously exposed like that, Hirono smirked as she came over to stand behind the stagecoach owner's daughter. Nodding in appreciation at that slender track runner's body Tabitha possessed, she reached down to gently rub the South Carolinian's buttocks, making Belle squawk as Tabitha herself playfully purred at such contact; her own new telepathic powers could instantly sense that Mitsuko's best friend now saw her as friend and sister of their small gang. "Damn! You will look so hot in leather, Tabi! We gotta hit the shops after breakfast to get you decked out!"

"How do we put her rank on a flight jacket?" Yoshimi then wondered.

"Shit! It's just a gold bar, Yoshi! No problem at all!"

The girls all laughed as Belle shook her head...

...then she perked on sensing someone come out of one of the other couple room. "Osu!" Homura Yuki called out...before he gagged on seeing how close to naked the girl gang from Shiroiwa was in view of a whole tonne of people.

Seeing that, Belle sighed. _Thank God that Livia's husband doesn't care for that sort of thing!_ she mused to herself...

...before she felt a surge of love and support from the girl now holding her hand...

* * *

 _ **Tampopo's Rāmen and Beefbowl Bar in the Tomobiki Ginza, that moment...**_

"Felt it too, didn't you?"

Abraham Lincoln perked on hearing his old teacher's question, then he sighed, shaking his head. "Yes, I did, old friend," he said as he waved Henry Sturges over to sit beside him at the front counter of one of Tomobiki's most popular eateries. Also seated there with the former president were Liam O'Connor and Evangeline McDowell; Karakuri Chachamaru had returned to the near-immortal daywalker sorceress' residence in Mahora shortly after the meeting earlier that morning when Lincoln explained America's long and torturous magical history to the boys from Shiroiwa and the girls from Kōbe. "It appears that several of the silly fools who tried to drag the whole of Los Angeles into another dimension some years back are starting to get a little too agitated because of what happened between Miss Inada and Mister Herrman in Mahora in March."

Angel grimly nodded at that. Being the primary leader of the forces that had opposed the leaders of Wolfram and Hart in their move to turn the City of Angels into a new Hellmouth, he remembered what had been done when he and his friends fought the Senior Partners down and removed their presence from the city. It had been one hell of a battle, one which could have been made easier if Inada Mizuho and the Staff of Gihan had been available to help deal with the legal firm's hordes.

"Yeah, that was quite the curb-stomp," Evangeline mused...

* * *

 _ **Mahora, near the World Tree, Saturday 20 March 2010, late afternoon...**_

 _"_ **FATES! IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP...!** _"_

 _"_ **DO BE SILENT, DAĒVA! I'VE NO CARE FOR WHAT A WORTHLESS CREATURE LIKE YOU DESIRES!** _"_

 _As a crowd of mages working for the Kantō Magical Association and a good number of the former members of the infamous Class 3-A of the Academy's junior high division from nearly a decade before watched in wide-eyed disbelief, a brown-haired woman in a dark blue seifuku was literally burning alive a winged demon who could probably look the famous Rubeus Hagrid of Hogwarts right in the eye. As several warrior mages forged defensive shields to protect the bystanders and move to do the memory modifications for those not privileged to learn of magic, Evangeline McDowell nodded in appreciation as she watched the Friend of Dragons go to work on Wilhelm Herrman. "Damn!" the Scots-born, Irish-raised immortal daywalker vampire sorceress in the form of a ten year-old hummed. "I heard through the grapevine this lady could kick butt, but to see this...!"_

 _"She's going to kill him!" a pale Miyazaki Nodoka whimpered._

 _"By the looks of it," Evangeline stated with a nonchalant shrug._

 _"Do we stop her?!" Kagurazaka Asuna wondered._

 _The blonde arch-mage gaped at the rejuvenated descendant of the royal house of the Kingdom of Vespertatia on Nerio. "An Cara na Dragons has a_ haijo-ju _, idiot! You want to try to tackle someone like_ **her** _?!"_

 _"What's a_ haijo-ju _, Eva-chan?" a wide-eyed Murakami Natsumi asked as she held Inugami Kotarō's arm close to her to ensure the canine half-demon didn't give into the urge to lunge into the fight between the Friend of Dragons and the demon who had petrified the inhabitants of Negi Springfield's home village of Carregpol near Pembroke in Wales fifteen years before. Though calling what the mysterious woman with the Sanuki-Shikoku accent and the power-staff was doing with Wilhelm von Herrman a "fight" was a misnomer._ 'Massacre' describes this better! _she mused on considering that._

 _"Think of it as a poor man's version of a Power Jewel...with the same energy levels."_

 _The people close to Evangeline turned quite pale on hearing that comparison. "You mean...she could go head-to-head with_ **Raeburn-shōsa** _herself...and possibly WIN?!" Asuna gargled._

 _"Nah!" Evangeline affirmed with a shake of her head and a wry chuckle. "Dean would flatten this kid in fifteen minutes unless she was off her game. But given what she's done so far since she first appeared at Hogwarts...!"_

 _"Oh, goody! We're just in time!"_

 _Everyone perked, then looked behind them. "Luna-san! Xenophilius-ojisan!" Nodoka gasped._

 _Panting, a certain blonde reporter and magical naturalist from Devon came up to join them, accompanied by her father. "Hello, everyone!" Luna Lovegood said as she exchanged smiles with Negi Springfield's former students and pactio partners. "Soon as I got the news about what happened in Carregpol, I suspected someone might come to challenge Negi about that."_

 _"Who is this fellow?" Xenophilius Lovegood asked._

 _"He's the high demon who was accidentally summoned by that old fool in Carregpol that got barely stopped by Nagi before he vanished on everyone, Xeno," Evangeline stated. "Goes by the Earth name 'Wilhelm Josef_ Graf _von Herrman'. He first came by back when Bōya started to apprentice under me to challenge him; Bōya trounced him with Kotarō's help back then."_

 _"So why did_ Herr _Herrman come back?" Luna wondered._

 _"He obviously didn't like the idea of An Cara na Dragons restoring all the villagers like she did," the immortal daywalker vampire sorceress reported. "Wilhelm came here to drag her out into a fight since he can't teleport into space to hit her wherever she's based. He took hostages to make her come...and that brought her running."_

 _"And now she's laying some cosmic whoop-ass on him," Asuna muttered..._

 _...before everyone winced as the pain-filled shriek of agony escaping Herrman turned into a ghastly wail as the storm of energy blasting him from the strange woman's energy staff caused small slivers of wood punched into his body to glow an ominous onyx black shade, flooding his body with splotches of necrotic tissue. "The World Tree...?" Luna hissed._

 _The locals nodded. "She obtained slivers from the Tree after she prayed to the Kami of the Tree itself for aide in defeating that thing," Takahata Takamachi coolly reported, an admiring grin on his face as he watched Inada Mizuho go to town on Negi's former tormentor. "Negi-kun was about to challenge_ Graf _von Herrman..." — everyone smirked on hearing the sneer in the teacher's voice on pronouncing the high demon's assumed noble title — "...when she butted in, then she impaled him with the slivers, no doubt to poison him with ebony meson. Pumping all that energy into him..."_

 _"She's going to make him blow up?!" Kotarō demanded._

 _"Possibly...eh?!"_

 _Everyone then blinked as Mizuho pulled back the Staff of Gihan, cutting the energy she had been spending the last two minutes funnelling into the demon. As people watched, Herrman seemed to remain still for a moment...then dropped to the floor of the stadium in a boneless heap of smouldering and rotting flesh, one wing and an arm snapping off on impact with the floor, torrents of meson-infected ichor flowing of the ghastly wounds. Some watching this turned away to vomit at the sight of seeing even this powerful creature brutalized so easily by the would-be warrior-priestess from another dimension and time. Silence fell over the scene save for Herrman's pained breathing, then people perked as Mizuho calmly approached the fallen demon, her face a mask of casual disdain. Glaring down at the whimpering being, the mistress of the Staff of Gihan smirked._

 _"Doesn't feel so good being at the_ **receiving** _end of it, does it?"_

 _The demon's head turned to allow him to gaze upon his tormentor. "Doesn't feel so good when they not only fight back...but_ **overwhelm** _you," Mizuho sneered out. "The Undying Lord made a mistake twenty-five millennia ago when he granted your kind the right to continue to entreaty with normal humans. But he was young and not yet truly wise to the ways of the Dark One who has haunted all sentient life since the very day the Wise Lord allowed all of Creation to blossom from the Primal Atom. A mistake that I will be happy to correct every time one of your kind tries to do what you just did." She stood up. "You couldn't stand the fact someone came along and undid what you did to the mages of Carregpol fifteen years ago. You first thought Master Negi had something to do with it, so you came here...but when the reports came from beautiful Wales that 'twas_ **I** _was the one who gave them their lives back, you had the audacity to try to take hostages to force me into battle!"_

 _Her smirk turned lethal. "Pity you never realized what I can do to a daēva like you..."_

 _"Miss, please! Stop it! You're killing him!"_

 _Mizuho blinked, then turned to stare in confusion at Negi Springfield. As she telekinetically snapped Herrman's other limbs and surviving wing to ensure he couldn't move, she walked over to stare into the Welsh battle mage's dark chestnut eyes. "Did you not suffer for six years with the false belief that_ **you** _were the one who summoned this thing to tranquil Carregpol because you were denied the presence of your father, Master Negi?" she asked, her own blue eyes shining with sympathy. "Did those who welcomed you into their warm hearths deserve such a fate after you lost your bright, beautiful mother because of her involvement in that incessant war against the Mage of the Beginning on Nerio? Why had they and you been made to suffer because of Master Stanley's foolish mistake years ago? Why, I ask?" She shook her head. "You are a man of great heart and soul!" As Negi blushed at that compliment from this strange woman from another Earth, she added, "You have earned the loyalty of the beautiful maidens of Mahora who were once under your charge, not to mention many others across both Earth and Nerio, for your many valiant deeds!" As many of the girls who used to be in Negi's homeroom class madly blushed at that compliment, Mizuho shook her head again. "I know what it means to truly lose one's own innocence, Master Negi. This creature was partially responsible for you losing yours when you were but a child not old enough to attend Meridiana! This creature ALSO deprived three hundred innocent bystanders of their lives for no reason other than it AMUSED him to do such!"_

 _She then glared murderously at Herrman. "Before you plead the 'agreement' made with the Undying Lord to allow your kind to continue to plague the lives of normal people on Earth, remember one clause, daēva: The clause that stated those who bore within their blood the Atom of True Life will NOT be hindered by the likes of you! You hindered my sacred duty to my friends by your pride,_ Herr _Herrman! Because of that, I banish you once and for all time to your home dimension, your blood now carrying what is POISON to your kind! Let what happened to you be trumpeted to all dimensions from where your kind arise...and let them know that unlike the Undying Lord and the Praetorian Guardian who showed your kind mercy in the past, I will be very PROACTIVE in ensuring that clause is enforced, here and on Nerio!_ **NOW BEGONE!** _"_

 _With a blast of the Staff's power, Mizuho effectively vaporized Herrman! As people ducked from that explosion of power, the would-be warrior-priestess sighed in contentment of a job well done before vanishing in a flash of light. As people stared at where she stood, they then perked on hearing her voice echo over the stadium, «_ **Master Negi, please see to it your fiancée is taught thoroughly about the concepts of giri! I care not for people trying to** _ **probe**_ **into my mind!** _»_

 _Everyone awked on hearing that injunction, then spun around to see a wide-eyed Nodoka standing there, her_ Diarium Ejus _pactio artifact open and in her hand. "_ **NODOKA!** _" Negi screamed out in embarrassment._

 _"_ **HON'YA-CHAN NO BAKA!** _" Asuna shrilled out._

 _"_ **NODOKA-SAN! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!** _" Sakurazaki Setsuna snapped._

 _As others all glared at her, Nodoka moaned out as she sank to her knees._

 _"She_ scared _me...!" the modest librarian whimpered..._

* * *

 _ **Tampopo's...**_

"Has there been any incident that could have incited the demons into moving this way against the Avalonians?" Henry asked.

"Outside how some reacted to what happened to Bill and Dru, no," Angel affirmed with a shake of the head. "More peacefully-minded demons consider the Avalonians the best thing to happen to them since the Sunnydale Hellmouth was closed back in '03. They know that the instant the Seifukusu give over those planets they really can't use to us for colonization, they'll have wide new ranges to settle on other worlds, free from snoopy normal people where they could live in peace."

"What of the so-called 'senior partners', Liam?" Lincoln wondered, his hazel eyes sparkling as he gazed upon his old opponent from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. "I never got the story of what happened after Los Angeles was saved."

"One's dead and the other two are banished from this dimension," the Irish-born private investigator answered. "Stuck in their own dimension thanks to Buffy and Kennedy Hampton after they tried to trick Eldre Koh into killing Theo Daniels. Wolfram and Hart is still active and trying to pull strings all over the planet, but they're not interested in dealing with the Avalonians. Manabe Satoko and her friends among the Maidens of the People's Voice tend to get involved when that happens."

"As did Mizuho even if people didn't know until Thursday who she was," Evangeline added.

Lincoln nodded. During the Civil War, the president had been briefed thoroughly by the-then Secretary of Magic, Professor Allison Goldstein, about those elements of magical society which not even the leaders of the Colligatio Nosferatu were aware of. Wolfram and Hart had existed as a legal firm back then. Fortunately for the sanity of leaders on both sides of the magical security divide, the law firm's leaders couldn't do a thing to help egg the Civil War into directions that would have made an already horrible situation worse. Adam Sewell and his allies were beyond the influence of any demon thanks to the ebony mesonium in their bodies — not enough to revert them into normal living humans, but enough to shield daywalkers from the influence of the "Seed of Wonder" created by the Old Ones during the Primordium Age as a way of counterbalancing the ancient influence of the Power Jewel then buried in the mountains of British Columbia — which helped give them the power to resist the Sun. Given that Sewell and his allies didn't care to entreaty with "primitive" lifeforms, the few times Wolfram and Hart's forces engaged rebel daywalkers, the demons and demon-possessed vampires always came out the worst for wear.

And when Lincoln was effectively reborn thanks to the Undying Lord...

"Is Mizuho-chan in danger?"

The people at the counter gasped on hearing that question, then they turned. "Didn't you get any sleep at all, Miss Nakagawa?" Lincoln gently asked on recognizing the pretty girl now seated in a booth enjoying a morning cup of tea.

Nakagawa Noriko sighed. "Not really, Oji-san. It was hard to do that when I had to spend time absorbing what you told us earlier this morning concerning what really happened in the Civil War." She shook her head. "Mizuho-chan's downplayed it a lot, but she's had to deal with demons before beyond what she did to that one creep that hurt Negi-sensei's friends so much. I'm just worried that demons might want to seek us out here as a way to fight Mizuho-chan. Much that Negako-sensei and Ataru are quite powerful in their own right, given the attitudes of a lot of people in this town when it comes to Ataru..."

The others nodded. "I've never heard of anything concerning Wolfram and Hart wanting to do business in Tōkyō," Angel stated. "When I mentioned what was happening in Tomobiki to Lilah Morgan just before I moved to England full time after I was given my blood transfusion, she looked as if the Apocalypse was about to come down on her head personally. Charisma Downing confirmed it as well when I spoke to her about it after I moved full-time to England. Even the Senior Partners are scared out of their minds of what could happen in this place." He shook his head. "It's not Lady Negako, though they respect her for the fact that she is Master Hosan's spiritual daughter." He sighed. "It's Ataru they're really afraid of."

"The Cyborg," Henry noted.

"And what he symbolizes to Avalonians," Angel finished.

Evangeline breathed out. "The _**Master of Entropy**_..."

* * *

 _ **The Mendō estate, that moment...**_

Aisuru Satoshi wanted so desperately to laugh.

"She said you were a 'boy'?!"

Right now, the man commonly known as "Megane" knew it wasn't the wisest thing to do, especially given where he was.

"She practically implied it!" Mendō Shūtarō hissed out, the mixture of outrage and disbelief he felt at being treated so shoddily by the likes of Sōma Mitsuko quite apparent to the other boys from Tomobiki High who had answered his summons and come to this clandestine meeting. Through the large picture windows lining one side of the reception hall set aside for the scion of Japan's richest family, the slender mass of the Program Memorial Lighthouse (as the press were now calling the structure sited in the middle of the expanded Moroboshi property) could be seen sticking up from the sea of houses and office buildings that filled this part of town. "Even more so, she bragged at the idea that Moroboshi was able to satisfy her not a day earlier!"

Many of the boys gaped. "He's fucking those girls?!" Daremo Hiroyuki snapped. "Fuck!" the heavyset member of Lum's Stormtroopers, known more commonly as "Kakugari", spat out. "I knew the bastard hadn't changed at all! Acting so suave to make the girls believe he was okay, then he gets a harem of girls he can sleep with all the time! That son of a bitch...!"

"Hey, idiot!" Mifune Hideyuki snapped as he wondered yet again why he had been invited to come to this meeting. "Didn't you see the news?! We all know what happens when someone shifts a soul between bodies! Mizuho-chan...!"

"If that IS her!" Urayamu Akira, "Chibi" of the Stormtroopers, warned.

"Shut up, you idiot!" the tōshi otaku then snapped; he was one of the first of the wider group who had fawned over Redet Hensō when she had been living in Tomobiki to break away from the influence of the Stormtroopers. "We all know Avalonians can shift their souls in case of pending death! Their creators' technology allowed them to develop machines that could help that happen! Besides, these kids just went through _**The Program**_ of all things! We've all read the _Battle Royale_ manga or the novel! We know all the shit those people went through on Oki-shima and in Kōbe! You wanna start a rumble with someone like Kiriyama Kazuo, much less Mitsuko-chan and her friends? I've heard of better ways of committing SUICIDE!"

"We gotta get those people out of town!" Shitto Kōsuke snarled. The tallest of the Stormtroopers, known more commonly as "Perm", was openly shaking. "It's bad enough that Ataru's got Negako-san and Hiromi-chan watching his back all the time! But he's bonded with Mizuho-chan and Satomi-chan now! Hell, they're thinking of changing laws to allow multiple-spouse marriages now since Avalonians never had marriage in the first place! With all of them backing him up...!"

The other boys shuddered...

...then they jolted on hearing an amused titter from a darkened corner of the room. "Do you boys realize how _**stupid**_ you all sound now?" a teasing voice then asked as two Kuroko appeared, carrying an open-air palanquin with Mendō's sister Ryōko now seated in it, dressed in her normal midnight-black kimono. "Moaning at the fact that Moroboshi-sama simply won't play your silly little games anymore!" Her dark grey eyes narrowed as the amusement on her face vanished. "Or is it because of what Ataru did to your precious Sakura-sensei during the Ides of March that bothers you!" As most of the other boys stiffened while their minds immediately replayed the images of the Cyborg using an enhanced soulsword to virtually burn the magic right out of the bodies of Sakurambō Sakura and her uncle Sakurambō Hayao near the climax of that bloody night when the shrine miko/school nurse and the elderly monk tried to exorcise the "devil spirit" from Ataru, the Seiran Girl's High School sophomore shook her head. "What idiots you are! Ataru is so far past all of you, it isn't funny anymore! It's just pathetic!"

" _ **QUIET!**_ " Mendō shrilled out, an aura of angry ki exploding from him, which made the Kuroko move instantly to protect their mistress. " _ **YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A THING, YOU STUPID GIRL! MOROBOSHI HAS ALWAYS BEEN...!**_ "

Before anyone could react, dark mist suddenly appeared behind him, an arm sheathed in a grey wool jacket sleeve emerging from it to firmly snare his arm by the wrist, It then sharply twisted that appendage around, snapping the joint with ridiculous ease! Mendō shrieked in pain as the mist instantly morphed into a raven-haired tomboyish woman in a combat uniform that hadn't been seen in the field for over a century, her grey eyes now as red as fresh blood as fangs splayed in her mouth. Before the scion of Japan's richest family could try to comprehend what was happening, he then howled in pain as the sharp tip of a Model 1840 cavalry sabre ripped into his left back. Fortunately, no vital organs were pierced by Harry Hunter's weapon, though the pain was just too much for him. As he passed out, all the boys screamed in horror as the saloon owner's daughter from Iva contemptuously kicked the fainted Mendō aside before she turned on them, an icy grin crossing her face.

"Wah! Wah! Wah!" she then moaned out, her own glasses glittering in echo of the pain she was about to unleash on these stupid boys. Noting that two of Ryōko's servants/bodyguards had moved to get Hideyuki away from the remainder of the group — Harry knew he was currently being courted by two crystal-bloods, a nice local girl named Inoue Tamako and a part-time restaurant waitress descent from Korea named Sŏ Yŏn'i — Harry then focused directly on Megane. "Y'all sound like those teachers in those _Peanuts_ moving pictures I've seen on them boxes you all love to sit in front of all the time. Spouting nothing but moonshine 'cause it don't fit what you think is right and proper! Even if I don't care for crystal-bloods myself, what Mister Ataru did for them was the kindest thing of all! As for that stupid old teacher of yours and her dang fool of an uncle, they both had that coming!" As the boys screamed in outrage on hearing this creature's support of what happened to Sakura, Harry smirked. "She was a dang fool trying to do something in the middle of a BATTLE! I know how dumb that is!"

" _ **ATARU WILL NOT WIN!**_ " Megane screamed. " _ **FOR LUM-SAN! CHARGE!**_ "

Ryōko shook her head as Harry instantly faded into nothingness...

...before a chorus of frightened screams escaped the reception hall.

* * *

 _ **A half-hour later...**_

"Something really didn't feel right about them boys..."

Mendō Hajime sighed as he took a deep draw on his pipe. "I've sensed it as well, Harry-chan," the current chief executive officer of the Mendō Conglomerate mused. "Ever since the news came of Ataru-kun's coming together with Mizuho-chan and Satomi-chan, all the boys have acted as if the world is about to end. Even worse than the time after the truth about Hensō-chan was revealed and everyone was returned back to Earth by those two nice Noukiite warriors. It's as if something in this town just doesn't want to accept that people want to move on from the 'circus' that we lived in when Hensō-chan was here."

Harry nodded before sipping the coffee that had been given to her. She then made a slight face, which made Ryōko blink. "Is there something wrong with the coffee, Harry-san? The beans are directly imported from Jamaica."

The saloon owner's daughter blinked before she chuckled, her pale cheeks flaring in embarrassment. "No! It's great coffee, Miss Ryōko! Really great! I appreciate it! But..." She then flustered more as she tried to explain.

An amused chuckle then echoed from the entrance of the reception hall. "Well, that's understandable. Given that you had to live in the field so long with fake 'coffee' made out of chicory root and scorched grain all the time...!"

As the medics working for the Mendō Clan continued to remove the wounded boys who had been called to this place to form some sort of action committee in hopes of dealing with what was happening concerning Moroboshi Ataru, heads turned before Harry's hosts and Hideyuki all beamed in delight. "Tachiko-chan!" Ryōko called out as she rose and walked over to embrace the slightly taller girl who looked as if she was Mendō Shūtarō's fraternal twin sister.

Which, in genetics, this particular bioroid was.

"Tadaimasu!" Mendō Tachiko called out as she warmly embraced her sister, they exchanging a sisterly kiss. "Guess I came back just in time; I heard what's been going on." She then smiled at her parents; naturally, Mendō Haruka was accompanied by her valet/human parrot, Hikutsu Ōmukai. "Otō-sama! Okā-sama! Ōmukai-san! Ah! Hideyuki-san!" she then said as she walked over to warmly embrace her brother's classmate, they sharing a tender kiss. "How are Tamako-san and Yŏn'i-ssi?"

"Well, as you can probably sense now, they've talked me into doing something," he said as he tried not to fluster too much as such close contact, his newly-formed empathic guards moving right away to block any sort of overt scan of Tachiko's mind via skin contact. Even if she was quite slender and wry like her physical template was, the film-replica of Mendō Shūtarō created in part thanks to a malfunctioning alien camera brought into class one day the previous September by Redet Hensō was still nice and curvy in all the right places. And while she was somewhat conservatively dressed in a sleeveless turtleneck sweater and ankle-length skirt, Hideyuki remembered seeing her in a swimsuit one time before Tachiko had gone up to the bioroid factory full-time to act as the Conglomerate's main liaison to the Avalonian provisional government.

Tachiko hummed. "Not a full bond-mating yet," she teased, the rougher "gang" part of her personality coming forth behind the veneer of being an heiress to Japan's largest family fortune. "Don't worry, Hideyuki-san. I'm sure Tamako-san and Yŏn'i-ssi will see what a wonderful man you are and make it a proper three-way like Ataru is sharing with Mizuho-san and Satomi-san."

"When are _**you**_ going to find a bond-mate, Tachiko-chan?" Ryōko then gently teased.

"Indeed, Young Mistress!" Ōmukai then declared after Haruka whispered something into his ear; fortunately for the matriarch of the Mendō Clan of Musashino, Harry's ultra-sharp hearing would allow her to pick up any comment if she was conversing alone with the saloon owner's daughter. "Your mother is most worried about your current un-bonded state! Even your brother's would-be lovers are bonding with others, though Anna-sama has yet to find one for her own..."

"Well, if Onii-sama still wants to be an idiot, I think I'll have to seriously pursue Anna-chan on my own!" Tachiko stated as she moved over, offering her hand to her family's guest from another era. "I'm sorry about that, Harriet-san! Thank you so much for stopping Onii-sama and his idiot friends from doing something we'll all regret if it got out of hand!"

"Oh, don't apologize, Miss Tachiko," Harry said as she stood up, reaching over to gently grasp the other woman's hand. She then blushed as Tachiko's dark grey eyes locked on her own light grey ones, their empathy and telepathy reaching into the other woman's mind to sense out what was going on there. Instantly flattered at how much this magical replica of the man she just nearly ran through moments before found her quite attractive even if she kept her hair boyishly short, the native of Iva then smiled as she offered her arm. Tachiko was quick to wrap her own around Harry's as they sat down at the chair, earning them both knowing smiles from the former's relatives. "Killing them would'a been a crime! Much that they are kinda blind as to what's going on with Mister Ataru, Miss Mizuho and Miss Satomi, they aren't evil! Not like the way I saw Yankees once!"

"But not anymore," Hideyuki noted as he took his own seat.

"Yeah...!" Harry trilled out, then she sighed. "I dunno! I've been riding around this town for two weeks since we camped out in Hōya Park. I've seen a lot of insane stuff, stuff that would have seemed either like a miracle from God or the Devil's own work back in my day! Even back in Georgia, it's the same thing. I even got a chance to ride around Iva once before we came over here after Mister Golden said how much Mister Ataru was such a threat to all of humanity..."

Ryōko sighed. "Honestly! What is wrong with people?! They've attributed so many stupid things to Ataru ever since Hensō came to live here! Are people really that blind?! It's a wonder to me that Ataru doesn't allow the Cyborg freer reign with all the abuse he's taken over the last few months, even after he did all those wonderful things for Earth AND the Avalonians!"

"It's giving those jerks a victory, Ryōko-chan," Hideyuki noted.

"You are right about that, Hideyuki-kun," Hajime noted. "If Ataru-kun really did let go of that darker side of him, people would then be justified in seeing him declared a monster! I still don't understand why people are reacting this way! Not a single person was hurt on the Ides of March; Ataru-kun gladly stood in the way of dozens of alien weapons to protect people! And look what he did when poor Meru-chan was threatened, not to mention when Romi-san was in town!"

"Miss Karasuba Romi, you mean?" Harry asked.

"You know of the sekirei, Harry-san?" Ryōko asked.

A snort escaped the saloon owner's daughter. "Got no choice now! Miss Akiko is bonded to Dally Shore, Mister Yuki's now bonded to Livia Floyd, Miss Yōko wants Della Burns, Miss Shizuka wants Sylvia Floyd, Miss Kana wants Sally Anderson and Mister Shiina wants Charity Burgess!" She then chuckled. "I know that Chloe Wilson's met Miss Romi a couple times when she and her squad swept near where we got our base came to check up on Miss Kana and Mister Shiina, especially after that dang fool carpetbagger Minaka decided it was time for Miss Kana to get her wings even if she wasn't ready for it."

"Chloe-san's your ordnance sergeant, right?" Hideyuki asked. He had been fully briefed on the Anderson County Amazons via dataPADD link when Moroboshi Negako put out the alert concerning the presence of the South Carolinians in Tomobiki.

"Same," Harry nodded as she tried not to shiver on hearing confirmation that people in town were now aware of her company's presence in the area when the plan had been from the start to practice stealth while they evaluated the best way to go after Moroboshi Ataru. A man who was now effectively untouchable thanks to his bond to a woman who literally had the power of God Himself at her side. "I don't think Miss Romi doesn't really care to seek out an intended, but she is pretty impressed by Chloe. Then again, we learned how to use a sword thanks to one of those immortals who live among us, so that would impress anyone. 'Sides, Miss Romi makes sure no fool slave catchers come along and takes a poor girl away so some evil scientist can cut her up to find out how her powers work! She's doing' the right thing for her overall family! We can respect that!"

"'Immortals'?!" Hideyuki asked.

"The undying swordsmen, all foundlings born from the Earth itself, who can only die from beheading," Ryōko answered. "A couple of the people serving our family are Watchers who keep an eye on them and chronicle their adventures."

He blinked, then nodded. "Oh, yeah! Negako-san told us about them!" He shook his head. "Wouldn't want to be like that!"

"Why?!"

"Can't be a father to Tamako's or Yŏn'i's kids if I can't _**die**_!"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You better properly marry them before you put them into the family way, Mister Hideyuki."

He jolted as her grey eyes briefly flashed red...

* * *

 _ **The Moroboshi home, that moment...**_

"So where's Noriko, Shūya?"

Nanahara Shūya looked up from eating the hearty breakfast that had been made for them by a small team of cooks led by Nakagawa Yūka. "She went out for a walk," he answered. "Needed a chance to clear her head over what Oji-san told us earlier this morning." He then relaxed himself as he reached out with his new empathy to sense out his co-survivor from the _Program_. "Oh, she's down in the Ginza. Oji-san, Angel-san, Evangeline-sensei and Sturges-sensei are with her."

"Tampopo-chan's," Ataru affirmed with an understanding nod. "That's good."

"Oi, Ataru! You think these bastards trying to hurt Tabi and her friends are gonna move on Nori?!" Shimizu Hirono asked.

"Possibly," he said as he sat down at one of the couches currently occupied by Noda Satomi, then he nodded thanks as Kitano Kaede — the steelworker's daughter from Kōbe numbered Girl #8 in her class was a paternal cousin to Kitano Yukiko from Shiroiwa — handed him a cup of tea. "Given how determined the stalebloods in America are to get that Rappaport's Law back into place after it was gutted out by Roosevelt-daitōryō back in '42, it's not so surprising that they'll do anything to get their way, even risking exposing magic wholesale to the rest of the world." He shook his head. "People are so stupid..."

"They're inbred hicks, Ataru," Kawada Shōgo muttered. "Deliberately isolating themselves from outside society guaranteed that they wouldn't know how the real world works even if they were taught stuff at that Ilvermorny School of theirs. Only those who were born among the normals really understand how it works. They need a good kick in the pants — hell, on the scale the Übermenschen gave them! — to make them wake up finally and be part of humanity. Instant Columbia is settled once the Seifukusu take a hike finally, magicals are going to be moving there." He chuckled. "Stupid stalebloods would go broke if all their customers vanished and moved to set up their own economy on another planet of all places."

"Just as bad as some of the Europeans are, even now," Utsumi Yukie noted. "It's not as bad on the Continent itself thanks to what Grindelwald-sensei and Múromeca-taishō did in the Greater East Asia War, but it's still there."

"Especially in Britain," Tanizawa Haruka dryly noted.

"They just want their slaves back..."

That was Minami Kaori. As people there sensed the members of the Anderson County Amazons among them stiffen, the would-be rock singer then gasped as she realized the insult she had just mistakenly delivered. "I'm sorry...!"

Staring at her, Annabelle Maxwell sighed. "No. You have a right to say that, Miss Kaori," the deacon's daughter breathed out. "It does sound wrong given what leaders in the South wanted to preserve when they moved to break away from Washington after Mister Lincoln was elected, but..." She shook her head. "I had coloured friends. Freed and slave alike. Even if people were scared of what people like that maniac John Brown unleashed in Harper's Ferry in '59 could do to normal people in the South, there was peace between the races. People were able to live and survive without hurting anyone..."

"It was a peace enforced by terror and lack of knowledge, Belle-chan," Ataru gently stated. "Most slaves didn't understand and weren't permitted to understand how they could make their condition better. Most white people in the South didn't realize and were always encouraged NOT to realize that African-Americans — all of whom were born in America then! — could be a lot better than they were allowed. Don't forget the vampires in the background. They were USING you all to keep that system in place to keep themselves fed! After you found out how much Sewell LIED to you all, how can you still support that?!"

Belle jerked, then she blinked as Sakaki Yūko's comforting hand gently grasped her shoulder. "If they were so hot to trot for abolition, they should'a been figthin' for it right from the start!" Tabitha Walters then coldly declared. "Wood stakes would'a hurt a daywalker if they were aimed in the right place! If the damned niggers wanted to be free, why didn't they do that?! Ganging up on a vampire would'a brought one down, just like those wizards did to us at Rocky Face Ridge!"

People winced on sensing the boiling outrage in the heart of the tavern owner's daughter as she recalled the last moments of her first life in northeast Georgia close to the border with Tennessee. "Let it go, Tabitha!" Olivia Floyd then urged. "Mister Ataru's right about our being lied to! Mister Golden knew all along we were still 'alive', so why didn't he find a way to bring us back to life back then?! People knew how to make golem bodies back then! Why wait until just a month ago to bring us back?! And just DUMP us into this life with all the changes that have happened to normal folk over the years?!"

"You were throwaways. Just as we were."

That was Kiriyama Kazuo. Gazing upon his class' most successful player in _The Program_ , the quartermaster sergeant sighed before she perked as Homura Yuki gently squeezed her shoulder in support. "Indeed we were," Livia then breathed out.

"Some gratitude," Tabitha hissed as she fought down the urge to cry.

She then smiled as Sōma Mitsuko gently embraced her from one side. Seeing that, everyone else grinned on noting how much the feisty and battle-crazed second lieutenant of the Anderson County Amazons was having her own passion for getting into a good scrap gently tempered by the former teen prostitute from Shiroiwa. People then perked on hearing footfalls from the direction of the ground floor hallway to the left of the memorial tower foundation which would lead to stairs connecting the main building to the various "couple rooms". "Hey, Akiko-chan!" Yūka called out. "Hungry?"

"Somewhat, Yūka-san," the sekirei technopath said as she sat down beside her new ashikabi. Sharing a warm kiss with Dally Shore, Kochō Akiko then smiled as Kaede came over with a cup of tea. "Dōmo, Kaede-san." She sipped the tea. "We should be getting a 'welcome to the Sekirei Plan' call from Minaka-hakase soon enough. According to Aya-nē, it's taken MBI this long just to triangulate where we are now." She focused on Homura, then Natsu Ayame, then Yashima Yōko in emphasis.

Seeing that, Yashima's new ashikabi Della Burns snarled. "If that carpetbagger thinks I'm gonna let MY intended fight in that Satan-spawned thing, I'm gonna ride over to Kōtō and run the bastard through myself!" she hissed out as her dark grey eyes glowed to show the vampire side of her soul surging forth to nearly overwhelm her senses. As the gravity hammer fighter shuddered as she felt her tama energize in echo of the power her lover possessed, the farmer's daughter from Pendleton then smiled as she leaned over to kiss the sekirei, causing her to gasp as her wings suddenly flared behind her back.

"Cordelia, you did not properly consummate your relationship with Yōko."

Ataru winced. "Onē-san!"

People turned as Moroboshi Negako walked into the recreation hall, accompanied by Shichinohe Kaga. "Please don't embarrass Della-vayae, Negako-san," Yashima then pleaded as she seemed to glow with the attention. "She's having enough problems trying to adjust to having a relationship with a woman. It'll come at its own time!" She then winked at Homura. "At least our wonderful 'guardian' was able to properly consummate things with his beautiful ashikabi...!"

Livia gasped. "Yōko!"

Homura moaned. "Go easy on them, Yōko!" the master of fire hissed out as he reached over to gently grasp the quartermaster sergeant's hand. "That wasn't a thing people talked about in public back in those days!"

"Yeah! Shock therapy works sometimes, but not all the time," Hirono added.

"How could Yōko use her norito that way?! Della-san only kissed her cheek!"

That was a confused Musubi Ayako, now seated by the Amazons' first sergeant. "It is the other reason that Hiroto fears bonds between sekirei and Avalonians, Ayako. Once you are bonded to Eleanor..." — here, she ignored Ellie's embarrassed squawk, which made Ataru's eyes roll and some of the other people in the room smirk — "...she will be able to properly energize your power without physical contact. Over time, you will be able to master your powers and have no requirement for Eleanor to influence your abilities by proxy. Once that occurs, you will then be ready to nest." As Musubi squealed on hearing that and Ellie flustered more, the ninjutsu grandmaster nodded as Kaede came over with a cup of tea for her to enjoy. "However, it is the breaking of the link between yourself and the jinki Hiroto has in his possession that is the greater priority now. Would you desire Ayako to possess that still, Eleanor?" she asked the station master's daughter from Belton, fixing her with a stare that seemed a million times more intense to Ellie than anything Halbert Golden or his allies from the Late Unpleasantness ever could use on the target of their anger even when they allowed their vampire powers to come forth. "A slave control no different than the collars our friends from another dimension were forced to wear when they were made to kill or die?"

"Shit! Go easy on 'em, Sensei!" Hirono snapped.

Negako sighed. "Hirono, there is no more time for that type of procrastination to assuage hurt sensibilities," she said in a cold voice, causing everyone to tense on hearing that. "Given Hiroto's desire to be the 'game master' in control over the lives of over a hundred innocent people, that mated to what rogues of the Magical Congress of the United States and the Colligatio Nosferatu now wish to see done to Eleanor and her friends, the sooner they are all properly organic, the better." She moved to head back to her dōjō. "Your replacement bodies were prepared and are in the dōjō. When you are ready, come over."

She walked off. Kaga watched her go, then she sighed, shaking her head. "She's right, girls," the Angel of Destruction and one of the first two Steel Angels created back in 1920 said as she gave the still-golem members of the Anderson County Amazons knowing looks. "You can't stay this way anymore, not with all the people wanting you dead or out of the way."

"We just don't like being forced into this, Miss Kaga," Belle warned.

"If we could make them all back off, we'd let you have the time, Annabelle-san," Kaga stated. "But, to paraphrase what Shōgo-san told Shūya-san on Oki-shima, they're wanting to 'play' and they're bringing all the force they can to let them win."

"They wanna bring it, we'll play."

That was the doctor's son from Kōbe. As the Amazons in the room watched, the _Program_ players all grimly nodded...

* * *

 _ **Atlanta in Georgia, that moment (local time: Monday 19 July, an hour after supper)...**_

"I'm sorry, Mister Golden. Wolfram and Hart cannot support this anymore."

"May I ask why, Mister Manners?"

Holland Manners lightly smiled. "There's been a change at the top of our organization, sir," the currently undead senior lawyer for the local branch of the demon-run law firm said as he passed on an apologetic look to the dapper-dressed fellow now in his office overlooking the downtown core of Georgia's largest city. "I cannot reveal to you more about that, sir. For that, I'm sorry."

Hearing that from his host, the red-haired man appearing to be in his late twenties nodded in understanding. Despite all the defences this particular skyscraper possessed when it came to protecting what was contained within from outside scan, the close proximity between his host and Halbert Golden allowed the Welsh-born daywalker to sense out the truth behind those very words. Which was rather quite refreshing when it came to dealing with practitioners of the law, especially when they were ultimately under the employ of a cabal of demons who had been quite the hidden movers and shakers during the years after the Primordium Age when the Old Ones had been chased off Earth by the Praetorian Guardian and the...

 _Oh, dear...!_

"I see," Golden said as he swallowed the goblet of blood that had been given to him by Manners' secretary. "Do extend my compliments to the _Freiherr_ if you may, Mister Manners. Just ask him to kindly stay out of our way in the future."

With a jaunty salute from his free hand, the centuries-old daywalker vampire then vanished from the office. Watching that happen, Manners slowly shook his head; his mage-sight had been quick to show him that Golden had been able to penetrate all the layers of security that would prevent that form of teleportation from the premises. Reminding himself to speak to security about that, he sighed as he reached into his desk drawer to draw out a dataPADD. "It's YOUR afterlife, Halbert. Not mine," the now-immortal native of North Dakota dryly noted as he tapped a control, opening a link. "Miss Schwartz?"

" _Guten Abend_ , Herr Manners," a younger woman's voice called back with a Rhineland German accent.

"The message was delivered to Mister Golden. He knows of the _Rittmeister_ 's interest in this matter now, I'm afraid."

"Come here at once, Holland," a cold man's voice then called out, that bearing the clipped tones of ancient Prussia.

Manners openly winced. "Yes, sir..."

* * *

 _ **Rügen, off the Pomeranian coast (160 kilometres north of Berlin), thirty minutes later (local time: Tuesday 20 July, ninety minutes after midnight)...**_

"His COMPLIMENTS...?"

Holland Manners shakily nodded his head, trying not to totally lose control of his self-discipline and literally piss his pants. While the man who was currently hosting him in the beautiful recreation hall of Schloss Griefswald seemed quite ordinary even if his mode of dress was a little outdated, one couldn't help but sense the cauldron of ancient POWER that burned within the heart of the man known to magicals, mystics and many others worldwide as the _**Undying Lord**_.

Outside the Praetorian Guardian now living outside the city of Rjazán' near Moskvá, the oldest human alive on Earth today.

"Yes, sir," the new head of the Atlanta offices of Wolfram and Hart stated. He had been ordered to take charge of that branch from his post at the Los Angeles office with the permission of the surviving Senior Partners when Josef von Taserich contacted them after their defeat and banishment from this dimension at the hands of Buffy Summers and her friend Kennedy Hampton in late 2005. It had shocked many of the rank and file in Wolfram and Hart that the Undying Lord held the largest external stock in the company, a fortune estimated to be in _**fifteen figures**_ in euros; this naturally gave him quite a considerable level of influence with Wolfram and Hart. Since Taserich had turned to the kobaloi of Gringotts to help manage those investments — the demon-run legal firm had always maintained good relations with the magical bank — everyone involved had become insanely rich. Given how much knowledge, power and artifacts the immortal Pomeranian cavalry captain possessed both here at his ancient home and elsewhere, it was no wonder that the kobaloi were always happy to do business with the man.

And while Manners had been quite intimidated by Taserich on their first meeting four years ago after the Undying Lord had inserted himself into Wolfram and Hart's inner operations, that was understandable. While not as overtly vicious as the Senior Partners could be to those who were completely incompetent or turned traitor against them, Taserich didn't care to deal with those who would gladly want to kiss his riding boots like those idiot Scabby Boys had once fawned over Glorificus.

When this man demanded results, he _**got**_ them, one way or the other.

"Much that we do take pride in keeping our own secrets masked from outsiders, Mister Golden is quite powerful as daywalker vampires come," the senior lawyer explained. "He was quick to sense your move to block support by any local branch of the company in assisting he and his allies among the daywalkers and the purebloods in America against the Avalonians."

Taserich nodded, clearly not surprised by such a revelation. Had people not recognized the man from the many pictures taken of him during World War Two in his capacity as director of the Übermenschen Project to give Nazi Germany a fighting force of metahuman warriors who could challenge America's Liberty Legion on an even footing, they would no doubt find him to be a dapper fellow, with slightly thinning black hair, a slender moustache and goatee covering his well-chiselled chin. Of course, his eyes, the dark grey of a raging hurricane, sometimes glowed with the ageless power flowing through his veins, though he could tone it back when it was necessary. "Well, that's understandable. Unlike your coworkers and yourself, Halbert does have mesonium in his blood that gives his abilities the necessary boost to get past certain defensive fields," he stated. "If my current projects bear the necessary fruit, I will see to it all branches of the company are properly protected."

That made the lawyer beam as he bowed his head. The Undying Lord's word was his bond. "You're too courteous, sir!"

"You still are curious as to the 'why'."

That was the beautiful woman with the well-styled dark brown hair and the dark grey eyes standing nearby. Like Manners, Meagan Schwartz was properly dressed in a dark business suit, the lapel pin of Wolfram and Hart on her jacket's right collar flap; such was normally worn on the left flap. On the left collar flap over her heart was the mark of her true allegiance, a golden Prussian war eagle bearing a shield with the number "2" on it. This was the crest worn on the helmet of troopers serving in the _Königlich Preußisches 2. Garde-Ulanen Regiment_ , the cavalry battalion the Undying Lord had always been seen as a member of by the rulers of Prussia from the unit's founding in 1817 to its reformation into a unit of the Reichswehr over a century later after the brutal end of the Great War and the start of the march to World War Two. Said crest was endowed with just a tiny iota of the Undying Lord's power; on sensing such things, even elder demons such as Illyria always treated the descendant of the Blacks of Grimmauld and distant blood-cousin to the Man-Who-Won with very profound respect.

The now-female Old One who had long possessed the body of one of Angel's acquaintances from Los Angeles, Winifred Burkle, had seen what the man born Tash Ri could do to her brethren...and had willingly done many times during the Cleansing that signalled the end of the Primordial Age and the banishment of demons from Earth to allow the rise of modern humanity.

Even if being in a woman's body made Illyria quite conflicted when she was in Taserich's presence, she didn't push it with him.

Those that tried to prove themselves better than Taserich — if they _lived_! — never did it again.

"I am," Manners admitted. "Of course, if the _Rittmeister_ feels its not time to explain such things, I won't impose on him."

Taserich smiled, then made a gesture with his hand.

A groaning noise then echoed from behind a bookcase on the north wall of the beautiful recreation room, that filled with tomes so ancient in many places, the senior lawyer couldn't BEGIN to imagine what mysteries were contained within their pages. As Manners watched in confusion, two of the shelving units came forward on invisible tracks, then pulled apart to reveal the entrance into a well-hidden alcove, one that had a ramp that led to a device that made the lawyer gape in disbelief.

When people in the Washington office learned THESE things were here...!

"A _**Stargate**_...?!"

"It is convenient to me for quick trips," Taserich said as the multi-eon old device he had found in the ice of Antarctica began to energize, the inner ring spinning around as it began to form the necessary wormhole. "Come with me, Holland.

"It is time you understand how powerful our Avalonian friends can _**really**_ be."

Manners gulped with a mixture of terror and curiosity as Meagan gave him a sympathetic look...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) _Battle Royale_ character notes: As one can see in the Battle Royale Wikia, there are only a small group of named people in **Kawada Shōgo** 's old class from Kōbe. **Sakakibara Mio** , **Hayashi Kozue** and **Fujiwara Harumi** are all my creation; none of them are based on any of the unnamed Kōbe students mentioned in the Battle Royale Wikia. **Kitano Kaede** , however, is based on the seventh unnamed student (as listed in the BR Wikia) that Shōgo was said to have killed. As I was composing the full Kōbe class list, I named the sixth unnamed student (a boy) as **Inoguchi Isamu** and marked him as Boy #6. However, I created a class clown for the original version of this story, **Kikuchi Emiko** , which wound up being numbered Girl #7, so Kaede was moved down to be Girl #8 in the final list. Her relationship to **Kitano Yukiko** is my invention.

2) _Negima_ character notes:

 **Wilhelm Josef** _ **Graf**_ **von Herrman** first appeared in the manga story "Rub-a-Dub-Dub, There's Slime in the Tub" (manga chapter #67); note that in the manga, Akamatsu-sensei once again got things wrong and put the honorific title _**Graf**_ ("Count") before the given names in lieu of before the article _**von**_ ("of") as is properly done in German. He appeared in demon form in the flashback scene in the manga story "My Very Own Superhero" (manga chapter #65).

 **Miyazaki Nodoka** (Mahora Girl's Junior High School Class 2/3-B Student #27), **Kagurazaka Asuna** (Student #8), **Murakami Natsumi** (Student #28) and **Sakurazaki Setsuna** (Student #15) were introduced along with the other members of Class 2-B at the start of the manga. All of them got the chance to have detailed stories done on them in the manga.

The name of **Negi Springfield** 's home village in Wales, **Carregpol** , is my invention.

 **Inugami Kotarō** first appeared in the manga story "Nodoka and the Secret Picture Diary" (manga chapter #38).

 **Takahata Takamachi** was Negi's staff advisor when he was first assigned to the Mahora Academy; he was the homeroom teacher for Asuna's sophomore class (Class 2-B) before Negi came to work at Mahora. He appeared in the first story, "The Kid Instructor Is a Magician!" (manga chapter #1). He is listed as "Takamachi T. Takahata" in the English translation of the manga and the middle initial "T." is also noted on in the original Japanese manga. As to what the middle initial means, I don't know and I don't reflect on it here, following my rule of keeping pure-Oriental names in the proper "family name-first" order.

3) Translations: **An Cara na Dragons** — Friend of Dragons; **Bōya** — Boy; **Diarium Ejus** — Literally "His Diary", this is the term applied to the physical artifact when Nodoka activates her pactio gifts thanks to her magical bond with Negi; **Hon'ya-chan** — Effectively meaning "Bookstore Girl", this is Nodoka's nickname among her peers; **Guten Abend** — Good Evening.

4) If people don't know who **Luna Lovegood** and **Xenophilius Lovegood** are, where've you been over the last two decades?!

5) _Buffy_ and _Angel_ character notes:

 **Kennedy Hampton** (family name is my invention) first appeared in the seventh season's tenth episode, "Bring on the Night".

 **Eldre Koh** first appeared in the four-part ninth season comic book story "Freefall".

 **Theo Daniels** first appeared in the first part of the ninth season comic book story "Guarded".

 **Wolfram and Hart** was first introduced in the premier episode of _Angel_ , "City Of". The **Senior Partners** that ultimately control the international and interdimensional legal firm first appeared in the second season's fifteenth episode of _Angel_ , "Reprise". **Lilah Morgan** first appeared in the first season's sixteenth episode of _Angel_ , "The Ring". **Charisma Downing** is based on a character from Clell Harmon's funny _Harry Potter_ / _Buffy_ crossover _A Fate Worse Than Death_ , marked as one of my favourites at this website. And **Holland Manners** first appeared in the first season's twenty-fifth episode of Angel, "Blind Date".

6) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character notes:

 **Lum's Stormtroopers** ( **Megane** , **Kakugari** , **Perm** and **Chibi** ) were minor characters in the manga series; they first appeared unnamed in the manga story "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" (manga chapter #3) and would eventually fade from the scene over the next few chapters. In the anime, these guys shone greatly thanks most of all to Megane's incredible seiyū, **Chiba Shigeru** (born 1954), which is the reason I love to bring them into my writing all the time right from when Mike Smith first introduced them to me in the mid-1990s. Their family names are my creation; in _The Senior Year_ , I actually use those names as their given names with their nicknames from the anime as their proper family names. After learning of their proper given names through various websites, I decided to switch the names I created for them as proper family names and use the given names (respectively Satoshi, Hiroyuki, Kōsuke and Akira) as the proper given names in my works. Note that **Shitto Kōsuke** (Perm) is not the same character as Ataru's best friend from the manga, **Shirai Kōsuke** ; they're two different people even if in the anime, the Stormtroopers often fell into the role played out by Shirai Kōsuke in the manga.

 **Mifune Hideyuki** is a character from an unpublished story of _The Senior Year_ written by Mike Smith, "A Spy Among Us". I use him here as an "anti-Stormtrooper" character to show that not all the boys of Ataru's class were crazy for Lum. The situation with him and his current lovers, **Inoue Takako** and **Sŏ Yŏn'i** , was noted on in _Avalonians at Hinata-sō_ and _Long Way Home_.

 **Mendō Ryōko** and the **Kuroko** first appeared in the manga story "The Mendō Family" (manga chapters #121-122). Her being of the same high school grade as her brother Shūtarō could be explained by the former being born on the first day of the scholastic year (1 April) and Ryōko entering the world a little over nine months later. Her father **Mendō Hajime** first appeared in the second part of that story; his given name is my invention. Her mother **Mendō Haruka** first appeared in the manga story "The Parent's Day From Hell" (manga chapter #51); as with her husband, Haruka's given name is my intention. Haruka's valet and full-time human parrot, **Hikutsu Ōmukai** (his name is my invention), first appeared alongside **Mendō Shūtarō** himself in the manga story "Trouble Drops In" (manga chapter #23).

The family name of **Sakura** (Sakurambō Sakura) and the full name of **Cherry** (Sakurambō Hayao) are my invention.

 **Mendō Tachiko** is my name for the film replica of Mendō Shūtarō created by an alien camera in the manga story "Love and Violence" (manga chapter #79); his/her living spirit would be preserved from dissipation thanks to the magic of Tomobiki itself. As to how this being became an Avalonian, read _Avalonians at Hinata-sō_ ; this is also where **Urashima Taeko** first appeared.

7) Mendō's would-be girlfriend, **Wakatsuki Anna** , is a character from the Libido dating simulation game _**Hōkago Ren'ai Club**_ (AKA Casual Romance Club), first released in 1996 and became one of the few dating simulation games to be released in English. I have to confess that this game is actually one of Libido's more _milder_ adult dating simulation offerings. In the universe of this story (as noted in _Phoenix From the Ashes_ ), Anna is a Terran-form Avalonian and an adopted sister to one of the many Niphentaxians who had been hidden cultural observers in Tomobiki; her story is better explained in _Long Way Home_.

8) As noted in _Magic and Canada_ , I use the term **Kobaloi** (singular "kobalos") as the proper racial name for the goblins who own and work in the **International Mercantile Bank of Gringotts** (as introduced in _Harry Potter_ ). The term is derived from the Greek words of the same name that would later evolve through various languages to the English term "goblin".

9) The **Königlich Preußisches 2. Garde-Ulanen Regiment** (literally "2nd Royal Prussian Ulhan Guards Regiment"), was a light cavalry unit based on the Polish **ułan** concept imported into Prussia. The term "ułan" hails from the Tartar term for "brave warrior" or "young man". Regiments of ułan first appeared in the lower Volga basin of modern day Russia and were eventually imported into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the start of the Eighteenth Century. After Poland was dismembered by its neighbours, the concept was adopted by the Prussian (and later German) Army, where the 2nd Ulhan Guards was first formed in 1817 within the Grand Duchy of Posen (in modern-day western Poland) before it was later headquartered in Berlin. The regiment fought in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the First World War, where it formed two "half-regiments" that fought on both the Western and Eastern Fronts.

10) The story of **Meagan Schwartz** is better explained in _Wizards and Avalonians III_.


	4. A Beacon of Death

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, three hours before lunch...**_

"Ataru, I hate to say this to you, but this place is a damned maze now!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Moroboshi Ataru perked, then he looked over. "Hey, Tokiko! When the hell did you get back into town?!" he demanded as he walked over from the recreation room kitchenette to embrace Aisuru Tokiko.

Megane's film replica grinned as they shared a warm kiss. Like Mendō Tachiko to Mendō Shūtarō, the female bioroid clone of the leader of Lum's Stormtroopers was a slender girl who looked like a fraternal twin sister to Aisuru Satoshi. She wasn't ugly by any sense of the term, but her face had a chiselled look to it in reflection of her brother's features, her dark brown eyes behind glasses. Her hair was shaggy short, but she appeared to be doing her best to put some style into it. She was now dressed in form-fitting jeans and a button shirt, both not hiding that she didn't have underwear on. Noting that, Ataru smirked as they allowed their tongues to gently play with the other person's for a moment. Unlike Tachiko, Tokiko and the other replicas of the Stormtroopers had followed Redet Hensō's replica Redet Danu and Miyake Shinobu's replica Miyake Saiko out to the former Urusian observation post on the minor planet Ceres to help block attempts by the government in Onishuto from learning what was really happening on Earth in the wake of the Liberation. Especially information about Earth's new starships.

"Just last night," Tokiko said as she leaned against him, smirking in delight as he playfully rubbed her butt cheeks, she stroking his chin in return. They hadn't been sexual lovers. At the time Tokiko had been restored to true life thanks to Urashima Taeko back in late February, Ataru had been too busy dealing with the tidal wave of post-traumatic stress disorder cases rampant on the bioroid factory and in all the seized Niphentaxian factory satellites and ships brought to Earth; he was also recovering from his short relationship with the Dragonspeaker to even contemplate having sex with anyone, to say anything of doing it with a girl replica of his chief would-be rival for Hensō's hand in marriage. "Ditto with the guys and Tachiko. Saiko's staying with Danu on Ceres. Our people have been fielding calls from many government leaders and major industrialists on Uru over the last week concerning the Noukiites' move to shield Triton from outside interference. They're afraid that Neyote-san will extend that sensor grid of hers all the way out to the Oort Cloud and block the whole system off from access."

"They got other things to worry about right about now," he noted as he moved to make Tokiko's favourite mint tea while she sat on a chair beside the small table located next to a stanchion holding up the second floor east-side balcony. "Do Danu and Saiko know about the massing of that Seifukusu fleet over by Cygni 61?" he then wondered.

"Danu's been in communication with the fleet commander for the past three days."

He gaped. "That's bold."

She smirked. "Once he learned she was an Avalonian, he was downright friendly to them. He knows of our connection to the Daishi'cha and the Gatherer. The Seifukusu got on the wrong side of the Gatherer when the Urusians liberated themselves nine centuries ago and Noa-sama and Honii-sama became Daishi'cha. He doesn't want to test us. Once he learned that Danu was feeding misinformation to Onishuto to keep people there clueless about Tsukihana-kun's little fleet, he nearly laughed himself into a heart attack. So far, there's no sign of any Urusian fleet massing at Toshitto to intercept."

"Mexican standoff," he noted as he heated up the water. "Heard what happened to 'Toshi and the others at Mendō's place?"

A sad nod twitched her head. "Yeah! Okā-san's cursing a blue streak over it! Even if it is the oni that were using Hensō-san and the others as their avatars that pushed Onii-san and the others into moving against you because of Mizuho-san and Satomi-san, the fact that they _**still**_ are ready to stalk Hensō-san like that is really getting on Okā-san's nerves. Never mind they are STILL mistaking Hensō-san for Lum-san!" As he gaped at her, Tokiko nodded. "I scanned him when I was allowed to visit him at Tomobiki General just before I came here. He's back to the way he was back in February, for Heaven's sake!"

Ataru blinked, then shook his head. "Mizuho is going to go town on them once she finds them! How bad were the wounds?"

"Not too bad. Harry-san controlled himself." Harry Hunter was now at the small encampment the Anderson County Amazons had made for themselves on the west side of the expanded Moroboshi property, which had been cleared of buildings and had been turned into a small forest to allow for martial arts training. So far, none of the still-golem members of the troupe of ex-daywalker vampires had yet to take up Moroboshi Negako's offer to become fully organic. "Hard to believe..."

"Believe it. Oh, Abe-ojisan is here in town if you want to meet him."

That made her gape. "Damn! That would be something, wouldn't it?!"

Footfalls echoed from the ground floor hallway that led south from the recreation room along the old road allowance of Kita-Teibō 4-dōri to the south gate of the expanded property, which had been named **Jōgenmon** , using the go'on'yomi reading of the kanji for "Shiroiwa" mated with "gate". "Who's your friend, son?" a familiar man's voice with a Midwest twang asked.

Ataru chuckled as Tokiko turned into a blushing wreck on seeing the Rail-Splitter up close and in person. After doing the necessary introductions, he moved to finish preparing the mint tea. "So you're one of our sly Pinkerton agents who are doing their best to feed misinformation to the enemy and ensure our defences can't be breached, eh?" Abraham Lincoln said as he warmly grasped the hand of Megane's sister; his own empathy had picked up that this was effectively a young man's soul in a girl's body, so he didn't do what was considered proper back in his day with a lady and courtly kiss her hand.

"Hopefully a lot better than what Pinkerton-sensei's people could do for your side during the war, Mister President," Tokiko said before she nodded thanks as Ataru handed her the tea, then the latter moved to make coffee for the former president. "Right now, it's a little tense with that Seifukusu fleet just eleven light-years from this solar system, but we're communicating with the commander under flag of truce rules to make sure he doesn't make a bad move inside Ceres."

Lincoln nodded as he sat down at the table. "It is terribly sad that we must do this...but if it must be done, let it be done as quickly as possible and with as minimum level of casualties as possible," he said before smiling as Ataru gave him a cup of coffee. "I also sensed what happened to your brother and his friends. I can't believe the spirits that haunt this town are so adamant on trying to force things to the way they were before Christmas last. I know Satoshi has a girlfriend..."

"That's 'had' a girlfriend, sir," Tokiko sadly lamented, which made Ataru stare at her. "Which is just plain stupid! Tanoshii-san is one of the most beautiful girls you could ever meet, both in body and in spirit! Ditto with Kenmei-san, Aijōa-san and Yasashii-san! How Onii-san and the guys could let girls like them get out of their grasp, I'll NEVER understand!"

"Damn...!"

Both gazed on Ataru. "They are sorry for not standing up to your mother when you needed help," Tokiko advised him. "It hurts them whenever you or Tariko-chan give them cold shoulders. If it wasn't for Negako-san and Hiromi-chan..."

He blinked, then sighed. "Yeah, I know." He then shook his head as he moved to make more tea. "It still hurts even now. Yes, I know how much Oji-san wanted to coddle Baka Tō-san, which meant giving in to his fool wife's demands all the time. But there were many ways of getting around it. Has Tampopo-chan found someone to take over tutoring her in Shintō rites? After what I did to Sakurambō and her uncle, there's no proper cleric working over at Senshōbu-jinja."

"Sakura-san's mother is taking care of things," Tokiko said, slightly frowning on noting that Ataru hadn't done anything to really keep track of events concerning Seiryōkuteki Tanoshii, much less the Stormtroopers' girlfriends Katsudōteki Aijōa, Sōzōteki Yasashii and Geijutsuteki Kenmei. Then again, given how much Ataru had changed in the wake of participating in the Battle of Morningstar Plain, the Liberation and the attack of the Konton pirates, such an attitude was understandable. Never mind what his bonding to Noda Satomi and Inada Mizuho would be doing to him now after their experiences in _The Program_...

"Hey, Ataru!"

He perked, then looked over. "Hey, Keita! What's up?!"

"Ah, nothing much!" Iijima Keita said before nodding politely at Lincoln...then his eyes fixed on the pretty yet tomboyish girl seated at the table there. "Who...?" he began as she seemed to stare wide-eyed at him.

Ataru immediately moved to do introductions. Tokiko was trying not to fluster too much as she warmly gripped the shorter man's hand; Keita wasn't as short as Oda Toshinori, Takiguchi Yūichirō or Seto Yutaka, but he wasn't anywhere close to the height of people like Mimura Shinji, Kawada Shōgo, Nanahara Shūya or Kiriyama Kazuo. "Let me guess," he then teased as he sat down at the table between Megane's sister and the former president. "Another fan?"

"One doesn't become true friends with Moroboshi Ataru without trying to understand _Battle Royale_ , Keita-san," Tokiko stated as she suddenly found herself wondering what now lay under his replica school uniform. Surprised to feel any sort of sexual attraction to a man — what Megane's sister often did with Ataru was always meant as a sort of head-game to get under the skin of the leader of Lum's Stormtroopers...which sometimes worked unless Megane had worked himself into a full head of steam over his support of Hensō and all the other things he considered "right" and "proper" within Tomobiki — she then sipped her tea. "I hope you're going out soon to get some more clothes other than that gakuran you have."

"Yeah, we'll be starting to hit the shops today," Keita said as he felt his own manhood stir at the sight of this effective boy-turned-girl now seated beside him. Much that he had his own "personal fan" in one of Fujino Shigeki's friends from Ziegler's Cove, Matsuzawa Ren, they hadn't felt a marei'cha urge even if they had slept together until her Hifuto illness forced her into isolation. That had put a dampener on any sort of intimacy even after she was restored; yes, they were still close friends, but the passion that Keita had once felt for the grey-eyed, red-haired girl born Roth dai-Tzuzan hadn't flared back up again when she became an Avalonian. Currently, both had separate single rooms in the east wing of the central core of the expanded Moroboshi home. "Much that I appreciate Ren-chan and the others doing this for us, wearing gakuran all the time gets a little stale." He sighed before nodding his thanks as Ataru handed him a cup of coffee. "Reminds me of the island."

"You will get your justice, Keita," Lincoln said. "If I know Mizuho, she will not stop at just getting all your brother and sister 'players' into this dimension to give them their lives back. The Greater East Asia Republic will face the wrath of the Friend of Dragons soon enough. And you'll be there at her side when it happens." He winked playfully at Keita, making him gape at him before he grinned in return. "Why don't you head on out and get some proper clothes on you, son?"

"I can show him around," Tokiko automatically volunteered.

Ataru tried not to laugh on hearing that...

* * *

 _ **The Tomobiki Ginza, minutes later...**_

"Keita-san!"

"Yo, Yoshio! Tadakatsu! Iinchō-san!"

Hearing that title applied to him, Motobuchi Kyōichi chuckled. "Keita, for Buddha's sake, I'm not your class rep anymore!" the bespectacled teenager with the well-styled black hair and the dark grey eyes behind reading glasses sternly said before he focused on the tomboyish yet pretty girl now accompanying his classmate. "Er...?"

He then suddenly forgot to breathe for a moment...

 _What a beautiful woman...!_

Sensing that empathic burst from his heart, Keita gaped before he gazed on Tokiko, who was now staring wide-eyed in return at a man who looked so much like her brother save for the different hair and eye colour. She seemed to stiffen for a moment as she felt her soul start to synchronize with the prefecture dietman's son in the first step of the "time of the month", then her cheeks reddened. As Akamatsu Yoshio and Hatagami Tadakatsu blinked on also sensing what was now happening between their classmate and the pretty replica of the leader of Lum's Stormtroopers, Keita smirked. "Nice score, Iinchō-san!"

Kyōichi sputtered. " _ **KEITA!**_ "

Tokiko sighed before playfully knocking the shorter man on the top of the head. "Don't embarrass the man, Keita-san!" she scolded. "He's already having enough issues as is!" She then sighed as she slipped her arm away from Keita's, then offered her hand to Kyōichi. "Aisuru Tokiko, Kyōichi-san. I'm very pleased to meet you."

He smiled as he reached for her hand. "Honoured, Tokiko-san. Motobuchi Kyōichi, Shiroiwa Junior High School, Class 3-B in the 56th Year of the Republic, Boy #20. As you'll probably know given I sense you are Ataru-san's friend."

She winked. "And sometimes play-date to annoy my brother. You know of him?"

Kyōichi blinked again, then he chuckled as he gave her a sympathetic look. "Aisuru Satoshi; everyone calls him 'Megane'. Unfortunately, I do know of him. Mizuho-san and the girls were quite vehement when it came to describing that fellow and his friends." He then gazed intently at her for a moment. "Oh, right! You're the replica of him that was made because of a malfunctioning camera Hensō-san brought to class back in September to help in a project concerning class violence. Your mei'na and the mei'na of the others were kept in a stasis because of the excess magic in this town, then you were rescued by a tokkaebi who had been adopted by one of Ataru-san's university friends down by Yokosuka after the Liberation."

"And we thought _The Program_ was crazy?" Tadakatsu mused.

Yoshio nodded. "Each dimension has its own definition of craziness, Tadakatsu-san," the gentle giant of Class 3-B said.

"Wise words, Yoshio," Keita noted.

The others chuckled, then Kyōichi took Tokiko's hand in his own. Both their minds instantly reacted to that contact, allowing their souls to further sync with the other person's even if both had the self-discipline necessary to fight off the growing urge to fully submit and become marei'cha. As memories of the other person's life flashed at warp speeds before the other person's mind, their cheeks reddened even more before they seemed to calm down as their inner souls accepted the other person's very clear interest, then they took a deep breath as they reluctantly let go of the other person's hand.

"Thank the gods for self-discipline, ne?" Tokiko then shyly commented.

"Would it be too much of an issue if you moved back to Earth, Tokiko-san?" Kyōichi asked.

She chuckled as she walked over to wrap her arm around his. "No, Kyōichi-san! Danu and the others will understand that sort of thing. To deny one's desire to seek out one's marei'cha is considered quite cruel and rude among Avalonians."

"Way to go, man!" Keita said as he flashed the other man a thumbs up.

Kyōichi blushed. "I did nothing!"

The other boys gaped at him, then they laughed before Tokiko waved them down the street towards one of the more popular men's clothing stores, located across from the famous Esmeralda's Ladies Boutique which was the hot place for the women of Tomobiki to shop. As they chatted away, Tokiko drew her iPhone and began tapping a text message to her friends in town...

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile, back at the Moroboshi home...**_

"Still hasn't called yet?"

"He's been trying, Shinji-san," Kochō Akiko stated as her fingers flew over the keyboard of her personal desktop computer. That had been set up on the second floor level within the living room of the "couple tower" that had been set aside for the silver-haired sekirei and her ashikabi from South Carolina. Right now, Dally Shore was busy grooming her nightmare out in the forest set up at the western side of the Moroboshi property alongside her friends save Livia Floyd. The ordnance sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons had taken her new fiancé Homura Yuki over to the Izumo-sō owned by the nest elder of the Kamikura-jima flock, Asama Miya, located in Kita Ward close to the border with Adachi. There, Homura's sister sekirei could be told of his fortune and new living arrangements could be made for them. "Fortunately, much that MBI has quite advanced technology in their own right, it doesn't come close to matching Avalonian levels, which I've adopted into my own systems."

Mimura Shinji nodded as he sat beside her to watch the information specialist go at it. Accompanying him was his "personal fan" from Ziegler's Cove, Sanzo Azumi. In the brief time the information specialist had come to know the Shiroiwa and Kōbe students, she had learned that the raven-haired, traditional-looking woman born Yami dai-Santa had not allowed herself to become intimate with the young hacker even if half the boys that had been with Shinji on the _Shiroiwa Express_ had been convinced from the get-go that they had slept together before Azumi's illness forced her into isolation. Kochō also knew that Matsui Chisato also had a deep crush on Shinji, one that might not be answered so quickly given his desire to not be emotionally close to a girl, that stemming from his revulsion towards his father's infidelity towards his mother. Fortunately for him, that eventually made Shinji look up more towards his paternal uncle Mimura Shingo until the latter disappeared to avoid being imprisoned by the authorities for his anti-government work...which helped the basketball player in his nearly-successful attempt at trying to sabotage _The Program_ , much less his mastering of Niphentaxian computing systems after his rebirth.

Shinji shook his head as he sat back in his chair. "What the hell is this guy's game, anyway?" he asked as Azumi walked over to the kitchenette to prepare some tea for them all. "Mizuho-chan showed us the copy of the Imperial Rescript that was issued to Minaka and Sahashi when it came to you people. You were to be helped to fully integrate into Japanese society, master your powers and find your chosen ashikabi so that you can pass on those gifts to the next generation and allow the human race to advance forward. How the HELL did that suddenly change into something like what I went through?"

Kochō sighed. "Many of us have who have more intimate knowledge of what is happening now have debated that for years. Yes, there are those who want to fight. Ayako and Hisako are two of them. But the idea of being forced to deactivate any of us in some sort of battle royale..." — she gave him an apologetic look on saying that phrase, which he waved off with a knowing smile — "...in some act of genetic Darwinism is wrong! I don't want to die, Shinji-san! I have found the one I will nest with even if my absorbing Avalonian DNA from Dally is making me accept the fact that we might seek a surrogate father in following the traditions of surei'cha before we would bear children." She then gave him an amused look. "Maybe you...?"

He chuckled. "I'm flattered that you'd consider me for that, Akiko-chan. But keep Dally-chan in mind before you start seeking a surei'cha. It'll be a chore enough to help her fully adopt to life in the Twenty-first Century after she gave up so much to keep things the same back in her time." Here, he gazed out the picture window at the spread of green lawn and the small grove of cherry blossom trees that had been set up in the three city blocks to the west of the original Moroboshi property. Right now, Musubi Ayako was having her first horse-riding lesson on a nightmare, with Ellie Reese guiding the sekirei boxer. Katsuragi Hisako was also on a nightmare and being walked through her first lesson by Bridget Moore. "Yeah, it's gonna be hard..."

"They're very strong, Shinji-kun," Azumi stated, her dark blue eyes twinkling with delight. "They'll adjust, just like you and the others will adjust." She then came over with cups of tea for the others. "It'll come in..."

 _BEEP!BEEP!_

"Here he comes..." Kochō said.

She tapped a control, which allowed a video screen to appear on her monitor. That displayed the image of a white-haired man in his late thirties, dressed in a totally white business suit with a collared floor-length cape wrapped around his neck. A pair of reflective glasses covered his eyes; seeing that, Shinji couldn't begin to discern what colour were Minaka Hiroto's eyes.

"Ah, Kochō! There you are!" the current president and chairman of Mid-Bio Informatics called out. "We've had the devil's own time trying to trace you down! Are you still within the game zone?! Do you need someone to rescue you?!"

"I'm quite well, Minaka-hakase," the information specialist stated. "Right now, I'm at the Moroboshi home in Tomobiki. My ashikabi was allowed to live there since she has no home right now and Negako-san was more than happy to..."

" _ **WHAT?! I FORBID THIS!**_ "

As the former Tōdai science student began to rant a mile a minute about things that just didn't make sense to the amateur hacker from another dimension or his current companion from Phentax Two, Kochō sighed as she flashed Shinji and Azumi both an apologetic look. She then stiffened, her tama suddenly flaring as her wings then appeared, causing Minaka to stop as he gaped wide-eyed at her. "Ashikabi-sama...!" she moaned out as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and arousal.

"Now, friend...that's not being very polite to my intended there."

Shinji and Azumi turned to look...

...as darkness seemed to shift and mould off to one corner of the room, that then producing a slender girl in the grey jacket and butternut trousers once worn by Confederate cavalry soldiers during the Civil War. Kochō crooned as her wings faded just as Dally Shore came over to gently place her hands on her lover's shoulder, she fixing the image on the screen with eyes now glowing with her vampire powers. "Mister Minaka, what makes you think you can decree where my intended and I currently live?!" the deacon's daughter from Centerville asked. "You were tasked by His Majesty to help Akiko-vayae and her friends...!"

" _ **WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT...?!**_ "

"Hey, dude! Volume, huh?!" Shinji snapped. "They can hear you all the way in Hawai'i!"

" _ **I FORBID THIS! NO AVALONIAN WILL STEAL A SEKIREI! THE GODS WILL NOT...!**_ "

 _KRUNCH!_

Everyone blinked as a _**cinder block**_ of all things dropped down out of nowhere to smash into Minaka's head, causing him to drop out of the camera range. A moment later, a chilly woman's voice echoed over the scene: « _ **Master Hiroto, I have warned you this: Accept the Wise Lord's desire for His children of the stars! The Wise Lord allowed Lady Akiko to find her one and true soul-mate in Lady Dahlia! Interfere in that or in any other bonding that has come or will come in the future between the members of Lady Dahlia's noble troupe of warriors from the good Palmetto State and the sekirei and I will deal with you PERSONALLY! Your 'game of the gods' is a delusion that will NOT be allowed to bring any to harm!**_ »

"Way to go, Mizuho-chan," Shinji mused.

Kochō and Azumi both giggled on hearing that as Minaka moaned...

* * *

 _ **At Esmeralda's in the Tomobiki Ginza, that moment...**_

"So how does this look, Belle-chan?"

Staring at the pair of hip-hugging jeans and the frilly blouse that Shimamura Kimie had picked out for herself, Annabelle Maxwell nodded. "It does seem pretty nice for you, Miss Kimie. I still think the pants are just too scandalously tight! You don't need to expose yourself to some silly boy like that!" Here, the deacon's daughter from Pendleton shook her head. "Don't people have any sense of real shame these days?! Those kimono you people often wear are quite nice!"

"But too restrictive on body movement," Nakagawa Noriko noted from nearby. Given that the Shiroiwa girls had got some normal civilian clothes on their many weekend trips to Earth in the past several months, the elder mother of her class was now in a pair of designer slacks and a blouse covered by a vest sweater in preparation for her eventual meeting with Rachel Thornbridge in Katsushika. "You found this out back in the war, Belle-chan. Could you fight in a long skirt?"

That made Belle blink before she sighed as her shoulders seemed to slump. "Not really." She was currently in her grey-and-butternut combat uniform, the three slanted bars of her honorary rank in the Confederate States Army on her collars and the looped braid of a cavalry field officer on her lower arms. Even if the jacket and pants were quite well-maintained and the brass on her buttons shined, its antiquated design had caused heads to turn when the deacon's daughter had escorted the girl's iinchō for the Kōbe class and the Elder Mother of the Shiroiwa girls to this boutique to start her wardrobe. Never mind that she had her sabre with her. "I mean, much that I understand I'm in a different era now, the changes are so boggling..."

Kimie grinned as she moved to pose herself before the mirror to make sure all was perfect. "It'll come in time, Belle-chan," the daughter of a dockyard worker in Kōbe stated as she nodded approval at the sight before her, then she reached over to get the matching jean vest jacket she had selected to slip over her top. As Belle nodded in approval of that — while Kimie was wearing a bra underneath, the thin silk-like fabric of the blouse didn't fully mask the dark undergarment, which made the shape of her breasts stick out like a bonfire in the middle of the night — Kimie then sighed. "Oh, I hope that when the time of the month comes for me, Mayu-chan appreciates this!" she then purred out as she sensuously licked her lips.

Noriko blinked. "Mayu?! That's Miho-san's sister, right?"

"Same girl! It's started to click in between us after I woke up on the _Kōbe Dream_ , but not as bad as I felt it happen to Kyōichi-kun a little earlier before he went into the shop across the street with that nice girl Keita-kun just introduced to him."

Noriko took that in, then she concentrated. «Kyōichi-kun?!»

«What is it, Noriko-san?» the prefecture dietman's son called back as Kimie then walked over to gently grasp Belle's hand so she could "listen" in. Before people went out to do things after breakfast, the Shiroiwa and Kōbe students formed a subtle psionic bond with each other to ensure that if any of them got into trouble, the others would know about it right away.

«You have a bond-mate now?» she gently teased.

Laughter echoed in hers and Kimie's mind. «It's getting there, Boss Lady!» Keita called back. «He just met up with Megane's sister Tokiko and WHAM! It was just as bad as Yoshitoki and Mai-chan were when they first met after we woke up!»

«Not to mention Haruka-vayae and me!» Utsumi Yukie added with an amused titter; the girl's iinchō for the Shiroiwa class was busy helping get new clothes for Cordelia Burns with the help of her lover and Matsui Chisato.

«My sincerest congratulations, Kyōichi,» Inada Mizuho then called out. «The Wise Lord has definitely blessed you this day! Master Abraham also extends his deepest congratulations as well. I pray things go well for you and Lady Tokiko. Methinks her brother will not give it up once he recovers from what Harry did to him earlier this day at Lady Tachiko's home.»

«Oi, Mizu! Can you go find a demon and kill the critter to make the others in this town back off?!» Shimizu Hirono asked. The members of Sōma Mitsuko's gang were also in Esmeralda's helping Tabitha Walters get started on a more modern wardrobe.

«Nay, Hirono,» the would-be warrior-priestess said. «The only demons I can sense now are a family of Brachen that live close to the border of the Mendō estate near that thrice-accursed Tarōzakura Hill. From what I've sensed of them, they only desire now to live peacefully in this city as they draw in the excessive magics in this town to help sustain their lives. I...»

That temporary pause caused all the _Program_ players in Esmeralda's and their new friends from South Carolina to tense. «What is it, Mizuho-chan?!» Noriko demanded as Belle automatically felt her hand reach down for her cavalry sabre.

«It appears we have a group of idiots here who now wish to test my patience, My Ashi'cha! I'll be busy for a moment!»

«Coming down, Mizuho!» Ataru then called out.

"Let's move!" Noriko snapped.

Kimie and Belle nodded as they moved to the cashier...

* * *

 _ **South of the Tarōzakura Hill, near the border with Kodaira, minutes later...**_

"We have nothing to do with your kind!"

"We care not for what you desire, half-breed!" the snarling dark-skinned humanoid with the shavings of real human skin held in place by facial piercings hissed as he licked his fanged teeth in anticipation. As the two whimpering half-breed children cowered from the smirking pureblood demons in the Nazi stormtrooper-like dark uniforms — the children had lost control of their shape-shifting ability when the members of the Scourge teleported in, reverting to their normal chalk-faced looks with bony protrusions sticking from their faces and limbs — Tiernan raised his very large battleaxe as he grinned in anticipation. Fortunately for them, a magical notice-me-not field had been set up around this particular place to ensure the neighbours wouldn't realize what was going on until it was too late. "It is bad enough the human plague is interbreeding with those alien creatures to allow the dark crystals to flood the blood of all and banish us from our rightful home, but to see things like you...!"

A brilliant flash of light then blinded everyone!

" _ **I WARNED YOU, DAĒVA!**_ "

Tiernan croaked. Fates above, he knew THAT voice!

"Oh, shit...!"

" **'Oh, shit' is right, goose-stepper!** "

He awked as an aura that would terrorize even the most powerful of the Old Ones suddenly washed over him, turning around...

...before a metal fist smashed into his face like a runaway rocket, sending him flying through the wall of the Onki residence to slam into the border wall beyond. As the half-dozen other demons who had come with Tiernan howled in fright on seeing the Cyborg now there alongside his bond-mate, one found himself a head-shorter thanks to a well-swung woodsman's axe thanks to a man who had just crashed through the living room window. "Good morning, gentlemen," Abraham Lincoln then calmly greeted as the others all spun around to face him. "Now, what brings you lot to this peaceful family's home today?"

" _ **RAIL-SPLITTER!**_ " a voice boomed from outside.

Lincoln turned...

...then gasped as Tiernan tackled him from behind, sending the former president careening into the kitchenette while Onki Matsuharu and his wife Seiko moved to pull their two young children Genji and Minako clear. Before the leader of the Scourge could stab his axe into the frontier lawyer's back to destroy this monster, Lincoln's eyes glowed a bright crimson. A telekinetic field formed around him, sending the demon flying through the ceiling and the ceiling of the upper floor to crash through the roof to land on a nearby telephone pole. A ghastly shriek of pain escaped Tiernan as thousands of volts of electricity then ripped into his body, that making his companions all gasp before they tried to lunge outside to assist.

Mizuho was more than happy to help move them along; using a telekinetic force bubble from the Staff of Gihan, she sent them all flying out into the front yard to crash in a tangled heap of bodies by the fence bordering the street. Ataru lunged out after them, reaching one's legs and pulling him clear single-handed from the pile. The demon wailed in horror as he felt the space-cold energy the mortal avatar of Sagussa's god of death could unleash, then his cries were silenced when Ataru spun his body around, snaring him by the neck and yanking hard to pull his head and a good portion of his spine clear from the body! The other members of the Scourge howled in horror on seeing the Cyborg do that to their brother, then they surged to their feet.

"Kill-disintegrate: Scourge demon!"

" _Kill-disintegrate: Scourge demon!_ "

The demons suddenly froze...

...before a bolt of energy slammed into the back of one's head!

He howled in pain as the hypercharged ruby mesonium atoms that were fired by that particular Peacemaker rifle, they mixed with another transuranic element that was utterly explosive under normal circumstances, instantly tore through his body like supersaturated hydrochloric acid, overwhelming his considerable invulnerability to being harmed by "mortal" means and disintegrating him in an instant. As his own soul was shredded forever, far beyond the point that anyone could hope to restore him, the other demons spun around just as the muzzle of that alien carbine levelled on them. "Just fuck off and die, goose-stepper! You NEVER belonged on THIS planet!" Noda Satomi shrieked out as she squeezed the trigger again.

As another demon instantly became nothing more than mist, the two remainder lunged over the wall to chase down the ordinary-looking woman in the black naval combat uniform, their mortal terror of the Cyborg and the Fire Maiden driving them to get clear of them even as their leader continued to be electrocuted on the power lines nearby while the Rail-Splitter charged out of the Onki home. Satomi stood her ground, lowering her rifle as they came close to her, her left hand pulling away.

" _ **KONTŌ!**_ "

One demon's eyes went wide as a burning katana appeared out of NOWHERE to slice into his head, ripping his soul to shreds as Satomi's finger pulled her rifle's trigger, causing the Zephyrite-built carbine to discharge right into the other demon's gut at virtual point-blank range. She then gasped as the demon she just killed with a soulsword slammed into her, sending her stumbling onto her backside as the other demon vanished in a ball of burning mesonium and bauximite. By then, many of the neighbours had come out of their homes to stare in total disbelief on seeing one of Tomobiki's new residents deftly deal with what obviously were oni of some type dressed in dark uniforms just as Mizuho herself charged over, using her weapon to elevate the dead demon's body away from her co-wife, sending it sprawling onto the street nearby.

" _ **LINCOLN!**_ "

Mizuho spun around...

...just as Tiernan ripped himself away from the burning power lines and came down to the ground, screaming in both rage and pain as he turned towards the house of half-breeds he had wanted to burn down in his ongoing quest to purify demonkind from human influence. Before he could react, a man in funeral black was right on him, his axe twirling around. The demon was able to catch it before that damned blade took his head off, then he threw all his strength into forcing Lincoln back. "You're WEAK, Mister President!" the leader of the Scourge teasingly snarled as he grinned knowingly at the other man. "Not like what you were in Chicago when you confronted Angelus and Darla! Where's your vaunted strength now, Rail-Splitter?! That bitch Raeburn took it away from you when you met her after she got that cursed jewel and you've became NOTHING...!"

The former lawyer and lawmaker smirked. "You wish strength, Mister Tiernan?"

His body glowed a brilliant crimson as the veins near the surface of his skin appeared, they turning a dark reddish-black shade that made the demon warlord croak as he instantly remembered what he saw in on a dark day in the early fall of 1871 when the Rail-Splitter — then just six years into the Score and Four — ran headlong into two demon-possessed vampires from Europe trying to hunt for blood within the booming city on the southwest shores of Lake Michigan. The former president had caught Darla and Angelus at the urban barn then owned by Catherine O'Leary at 137 DeKoven Street on the late evening of Sunday 8 October 1871. As the two demon-possessed vampires moved to put down the ebony meson-crazed lawyer from Springfield, a knocked-over lantern caused the barn to burn it down, the three quasi-immortals still trapped within it. Fortunately for all three, they would survive that even if many others would not over the following two days. As Lincoln later learned thanks to his friend and long-time travelling companion Mollie Bean on their meeting in Detroit a month after the Great Chicago Fire, demons then living in the Windy City panicked on sensing the Rail-Splitter in their town, then expanded that simple barn fire into something they hoped would wipe out the meson-crazed lawyer once and for all.

It didn't work. Even if both were wounded in that initial confrontation, Darla and Angelus escaped from the city when Lincoln was confronted by a small troupe of warriors from the Scourge's parent organization, the Coalition for Purity then led by the pure-born Brachen father of a late co-worker of Liam O'Connor, Allen Doyle. In the three days Chicago had burned, Lincoln's reputation as a warrior ready to exterminate all forms of darkness that he confronted was forever cemented in the mutilated bodies of hundreds of demons, vampires and other creatures. It took the Department of Magic nearly a WEEK to obliviate the memories of all the normals who found such beings to ensure the secret of the world's many magical societies was kept secret from non-magicals. Tiernan had been there fighting at the side of Axtilus; both had been able to flee the Rail-Splitter's wrath when several warriors of the Scourge sacrificed themselves to ensure the heart of both demons' organizations would survive.

" _ **HOW IS THIS FOR STRENGTH, SIR?!**_ " Lincoln then snapped...

...before a blaze of energy flooded his hands to rip through Tiernan's body, shredding it in a blinding flash of power, the demon's mortal shriek of agony causing the wide-eyed onlookers to wince on hearing such ghastly pain. As the mouldering remains of the Scourge's leader collapsed to the ground, Lincoln twirled up his axe, tapping a hidden button on the underside of the blade to cock the hidden single-shot derringer that he had installed into the handle for special occasions. He then aimed on Tiernan's burning head, his finger on the trigger that deployed once the handle was pulled slightly clear of the axe blade. "Send my regards to Adam Sewell, will you, sir?" he calmly stated before firing his weapon.

The multi-layered mesonium bullet supercharged with the frontier lawyer's own life energy, that sheathed in silver, lanced out to punch through the demon's head between his eyes, causing half his skull to disintegrate as the deadly material in that shell instantly shattered the intricate energy matrices that had kept Tiernan alive and well in this dimension. People witnessing this immediately whispered prayers to the Kami to cleanse away such filth from their cities as Satomi turned around, levelling her Peacemaker at the demon she had felled with a soulsword. A pull of the trigger later, his body vanished in fire.

Seeing this, Mizuho nodded before she perked as running feet and horses' hooves echoed from nearby. "Be at ease, my friends!" she called out as a small troupe of people in both civilian clothes and Canadian naval combat dress appeared, many bearing Peacemakers and Lawgivers. Among them were two girls mounted on nightmares, both in Confederate grey and butternut, their sabres drawn and at the ready to deal with whatever was threatening their friends. "They are no more!"

Making her mount a stop before the front gate of the Onki home, Tabitha Walters looked inside to see two sobbing half-demon children, both appearing to not be past ten years of age, now being comforted by their parents, both of whom had dropped their own human guises to better comfort their offspring. "What about them, Miss Mizuho?" the second lieutenant of the Amazons demanded, nodding contemptuously at the house as she seemed to grin in anticipation of slaughtering something.

Before the would-be warrior-priestess could answer, a hissing roar escaped the head of the demon whose skull and upper spine had been physically yanked off his body by the Cyborg just moments earlier. Before the transformed Terran tag race champion could lunge over the fence wall of the Onki home to prevent the demon warrior from putting himself back together again and escaping, Tabitha whooped in delight as she jumped her nightmare over the fence wall, then easily twirled herself off her mount. By then, the last warrior of the Scourge had been able to get his head back into place and was moving to scramble back to his feet...before a shriek of pain and shock escaped him thanks to a cavalry sabre lancing his throat!

"Uh-uh, goose-stepper! You STAY dead this time!"

People morbidly watched as Tabitha became a whirlwind of grey jacket and brown pants, tanned face, glowing eyes, fanged canines and whirling sabre. The demon didn't stand a chance; in thirty seconds, he had been perfectly dismembered, his head now impaled on the end of the ex-daywalker's sword. By then, Mizuho had used the Staff of Gihan to repair the external and internal damage to the Onki home. "I can still sense your clinging to this life, daēva," she then coldly declared as the Staff's focusing crystal glowed. "You'll be more than perfect to convey my greetings to the others of the so-called 'coalition for purity', bearing _**poison**_ that will slaughter your kind wholesale and remove your stain from the Wise Lord's Creation! _**NOW BEGONE!**_ "

In a flash of energy, the dismembered demon vanished from the lawn. Many of the onlookers screamed in relief before they cheered the heroes and heroines that had removed such a dark stain from their town. Mizuho sighed, then moved to head inside the Onki home as Ataru transformed back to normal, he joining with Satomi before they followed Lincoln inside...

* * *

 _ **Over 35,000 light-years from Earth, orbiting the planet Maghilsa (Sen'a IV), that moment...**_

"'Coalition of Purity', eh...?"

Hearing that derisive comment from his current host, Holland Manners gulped before he turned to gaze warily at the immortal Prussian warlord now standing in the middle of the vast bridge, over 900 square meters in size, overlooking a cityscape of a starship now in orbit over a world the size of Earth even if it was as cold as Antarctica even in mid-summer. "Sir...?"

Josef von Taserich gazed at him for a second, then turned back to look out into the beautiful stars of the small cluster of Population Two primaries that had formed a mini-galaxy in their own right over five thousand parsecs from the Galactic Barrier that served as the outer shell of the Milky Way Galaxy proper. Said galaxy was just below the horizon of Maghilsa's curved surface; the great super-dreadnought both immortal Terrans now stood on was in an elliptic orbit that was taking them over the northern hemisphere of the only planet in the Sen'a formation compatible in size to the wrecked world not more than a hundred million kilometres closer to the blazing giant star that formed the heart of this particular solar system.

"The Coalition of Purity and the Scourge just tried to attack a family of Bracken living in Tomobiki," the Undying Lord stated, making the undead lawyer gape in shock on hearing of such a brazen thing. Taserich always maintained a small psionic link with those he had given mesonium "gifts" to; not even the vast distance between Sagussa's sister world and Earth wouldn't delay any thoughts from Abraham Lincoln that might have caught the Prussian's interest. "The Gihanrei was there, along with her classmate and Negako's last host, not to mention a couple of those remarkable daywalker vampires from South Carolina. Several are now of Avalonian blood. It appears Tiernan decided to test his luck within the city Negako marked as her own. He failed and paid for it, then the Gihanrei did unto one of his followers what she did to Wilhelm Herrman some months ago."

That made Manners wince as he imagined what the repercussions of THAT would be among the demons now trying to exert influence all over Earth. The news of what Inada Mizuho had done to Wilhelm von Herrman in March had shocked many demon leaders who often interacted with human beings, especially those who saw humans as an unclean "plague" that needed to be wiped out so that the "proper" inhabitants of the planet could take it over. That the fake German "count" had been put down by the Friend of Dragons was one thing. That she gladly turned his dying corpse into a bearer of ebony mesonium derived ultimately from the blood of _**Hosan Hirosuke**_ himself — according to legends, the Immortal Master had blessed the World Tree of Mahora when he visited it centuries ago — then sent the body back to his home dimension to spread such a "plague" within Herrman's home dimension, had been something else. Not even the Undying Lord nor the Praetorian Guardian had been THAT vicious in the Cleansing over twenty-five millennia before. What was worse, since Herrman had deliberately attacked Avalonians in his hopes of drawing Mizuho into battle, the would-be warrior-priestess had been well within her rights to do what she did. Alien-born the bioroids were, but they had the Atom of True Life in their blood.

The End Treaty between the Old Ones and the Undying Lord had one clause that many demons often forgot:

 _ **Never attack anyone bearing the Atom of True Life in his/her blood!**_

Herrman and his particular tribe of demons had paid for that mistake...

...and many other demon leaders were now scared that the mistress of the Staff of Gihan — the "Child of Gihan" as she would be addressed in Sagussan — would come after them next, driven by her devotion to the words of the Prophet Zaraϑuštra and haunted by her experiences in _The Program_ in another dimension and time to burn away all forms of druj from Earth.

"He is lost to us all, isn't he?"

Manners winced again as he gazed over his shoulder at the darkened figure now reclined in the command chair of the Fourth Republic's ultimate warship, she cloaked in the black jumpsuit with the gold highlights that marked her theoretical place within the founding government of the new Fifth Republic that would now be arising on that wrecked world one planet in-system from Maghilsa...hadn't a traveller from another dimension and many years in the future had come to their world shortly after Moroboshi Ataru had been there, driven by mad revenge and influenced by some cosmic "master of balance" to slaughter the Daishi'cha wholesale for some perceived slight or another. While the bodies of all but one of the 100,000 young women who lived and died on over twenty worlds inside the Galaxy had been destroyed, their souls had been saved by mechanical tre'cha thanks to the "companion gynoid" system developed by the people who initiated the Grand Design over ten millennia before to help the first mothers of a new race better develop an understanding of intimate relationships. Before the snarling creature who had been born Miyake Shinobu in another dimension could try to destroy the androids, a group of would-be Daishi'cha which had been rejected from the Grand Design — a total of 4,915 such people, mostly Yehisrite-born — came back to their adopted homeworld after they had been found and restored to true life by the previous incarnation of Infinity of Yiziba. It was just in time; the being called "Scalphunter" was personally killed by one of the Pirpirsiw'r among the Returned Ones, then the spirit of the being calling itself "Karmalibra" within the body of the lost princess of Kyotos was trapped in a mesonium crystal and buried deep within the heart of the great dome of Tere'na to ensure she would never threaten anyone anew.

The aftermath of that had been messy...

...especially when the Undying Lord himself finally took interest in the _**one**_ other planet beyond Earth he had regularly travelled upon in his over twenty-five millennia of life, then came to see what was going on.

"Why do you believe he is lost to you, Noa?" Taserich wondered.

The woman known as "Aruka Noa" in Urusian legend and history blinked as she focused her dark brown eyes on the Undying Lord's stormy grey ones. Even if she was in the body of her companion gynoid replica thanks to the actions of the Returned Ones, she could still feel the full gamut of emotions that had been woken in her thanks to a young boy from a suburb of Tōkyō over a decade ago. "He was always there, deep in all our minds...and then he was gone! We felt him die..."

"He did not die, Elder Mother," Manners quickly explained with a proper tone of sympathy. "Shortly after you returned him to Earth, Hana Hirosuke died. As he was Lady Negako's then-host, he was forced to give her essence over to Ataru to keep her alive per the demands of the Sacred Promise of Bunka-gonen. Ataru is quite alive and well."

"And now bonded to two very agreeable lovers," Taserich added.

Hearing that made Noa — she still thought herself mostly by her sequential number, Daishi'cha #19282, than the name given to her in Urusian legends — lightly smile. "Thank Lyna that I didn't give into that stupid urge when I moved to track poor Lum down on Earth to bond her and Ataru together when they showed how much they liked each other." She shook her head. "The phonology of their names when compared to the First Couple of the Fourth Republic just struck me so hard that day..."

"It might have helped them in the years following that encounter. It might not," the immortal Prussian warlord stated. "What is past is past, child. Let it go. Now it is time for all of you to regain organic bodies and your rescuers get the chance to be free of living in resurrected corpses all the time." He then perked as the door leading to the main elevator connecting the bridge to the rest of the super-dreadnought they stood on swooshed open. "Ah, Givpizra. There you are."

The Pathfinder chief petty officer came to attention, bowing her head formally to the man who had ensured that Karmalibra wouldn't haunt the Daishi'cha ever again. "A report from the Head Scientist, Thoughtmaster-prime," the raven-haired, brown-eyed Yehisrite-born Sagussan with the music note-and-combat dagger tattoo on under her right eye said. In the master list of Daishi'cha, she would have been numbered #22861; these days, since there was another reborn woman who had that number, the suffix "-A" had been added to Givpizra of Falcros' sequential number. Like the others of the Returned Ones, the former wandering bard from Yehisril's greatest lost principality didn't really care for numbers; in that, she differed greatly from the reborn woman seated nearby. "The genesis bomb is ready to be triggered. All that could be salvaged from the Chamber of Eternity has been recovered and secured within the MOSS. All ships are ready to deploy to the Sol system."

Taserich nodded...

 _ **YOU WILL NOT WIN THIS, TASH RI!**_

He blinked as that voice echoed through space and the internal atmosphere of the starship, then he smiled. " _ **You do not belong either here or anywhere in this dimension**_ ," he coldly declared as his eyes glowed with the immortal power that was only his to command. " _ **You may deem yourself a 'god', but you are just as repulsive as the so-called 'Old Ones' were, much less Glorificus. Résav'l and I made it clear long ago; Earth is OURS to possess! Not anyone else!**_ "

 _ **SURRENDER THE CORPSES, TASH RI! THEIR EXISTENCE IS ATHAEMIA TO ALL...!**_

Taserich snapped his fingers.

 _ **...AND THEY WILL...NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!**_

A brilliant flash of light appeared in the near distance, just to the left of Sen'a. As Givpizra and Noa both morbidly watched, a burning bubble of energy seemed to encompass the small star in the sky that marked Sagussa. Said bubble then began to draw in energy from the shattered fragments of the small red dwarf companion star to Sen'a, Eisen'a, that formed a ring around the great primary, the plasma in that stream energizing the rejuvenating waves of the poor man's version of the Genesis Wand of Parah detonated on Sagussa's surface just now that was rapidly transforming a world shattered by a five-century war into something more conducive for the propagation of new life. Anything that had been touched by Karmalibra had been left behind to be smashed into sub-atomic particles before the supercharged mesonium contained in the bomb commenced a miniature version of the Big Bang to reform the planet into a "Class M" world, ready to take new settlement.

Even more so, all the artifacts in this solar system left behind by one of the most technologically advanced races in the whole galactic cluster when they vanished from existence ten millennia ago which could be found by other races had been collected and were now either being processed for reuse or had been left behind on Sagussa to be forever wiped out.

When the mutated insectoid creatures who were the blood-descendants of the First Sagussan Republic from over five million years before — known more commonly among the races inside the Galactic Barrier as the "Lannarkites", a race that rivalled the Yizibajohei when it came to sheer fear factor among the less-advanced species — finally returned to their ancestral world sometime in the far future, they would find no mark of any "fur-skin" habitation of their world, much less the presence of the metamorphic beings who lived on Sagussa between the final fall of the A'g'san-descent "Second Republic" two million years ago and the the rise of the "Fourth Republic" a hundred millennia ago within the valley of the Forge of Tere'na.

Those beings — commonly referred to these days as being of the "Third Republic" by the small group of archaeologists among the Daishi'cha — who had placed an observation post on Earth, on an uninhabited peninsula off the coast of Eurasia that would become a series of islands when tectonic shifts and the rapid change of weather caused sea levels to rise. Said post had been placed at the natural convergence place of metaphysical ley lines that would have empowered the Third Republicans living then at the outpost they had called "Toghmoghbiki" with the ability to manipulate the very essence of Existence itself.

Until the rise of the ancestors of the Fourth Republic caused a backlash among the Third Republicans and unleashed a war...

A war that ultimately made the Primordium Age of Earth possible.

And ultimately guaranteed that the man born Tash Ri on the Isle of Rügen would become what he is today.

As was recognized millennia later by a very wise Sagussan scientist named Gihan.

" _Is it gone, Josef?_ "

Hearing that metallic cold woman's voice echo all around them, both Noa and Givpizra winced as they tried not to shiver in terror. "It is no more, Cassandra," Taserich stated. "Your brother is avenged and there are many targets now presenting themselves close to where the Avalonians have elected to base themselves. Are all ships ready to deploy?"

A derisive snort answered. " _No sense staying here anymore._ "

"Then move us out to join the rest of the fleet. Our business here is done. We should be over Earth in two hours even if we have to tow things like the Main Dockyard and the Mobile Science Station."

" _What about what that Yizibajohei girl did to protect Earth?_ "

Taserich smirked. "Avalonians of multiple origin species and Terrans. There is no need for alarm, Cassandra. But if there are those who wish to hinder our journey, please feel more than free to indulge yourself."

" _Always._ "

As Noa sadly shook her head, the main stardrive of the Eliminator flared to life, allowing the ten kilometre-long warship to break orbit from Maghilsa and soar out to Sen'sha Seven, where the rest of the old fleet awaited...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, thirty minutes to lunch...**_

"You'll keep Noriko-san, Yukie-san, Kimie-san and Kyōichi-san safe?"

Annabelle Maxwell chuckled as she gave Moroboshi Ataru a reassuring stare. "Don't you fret, Mister Ataru. Much that some of us still have trouble trusting you, Rachel does understand the need to honour flags of true. Given what you and Miss Mizuho did for Livia and Della, plus what you're willing to do for us, it'll be alright." She blinked. "You alright? You look a little peaked there. It wasn't something that awful demon did to you before you ripped his head off, was it?"

He shook his head. The small group of nightmares now being ridden by the members of the Anderson County Amazons had been gathered in front of the Jōgenmon, they standing close to a limousine sent by Toranoseishin Finances to transport Nakagawa Noriko, Utsumi Yukie, Motobuchi Kyōichi and Shimamura Kimie over to Katsushika and a very important meeting with Rachel Thornbridge. All the people who would be going to that meeting were inside the car now; atop the Elder Mother of the combined Shiroiwa/Kōbe classes and the iinchō of the two classes alive in this dimension, Yukie's bond-mate Tanizawa Haruka, Kyōichi's new girlfriend Aisuru Tokiko and Kimie's classmate Hinase Minami were going. "No, it wasn't that. It's just some odd feeling I've got." He shrugged. "I get them from time to time. Don't understand what it means even if I meditate."

"I hope it's okay, Mister Ataru," Dally Shore said. All the sekirei who had bonded or wanted to bond with their ashikabi were with their lovers on their mounts, riding behind them. "You've been through so much before..."

"I just don't seem to be cut out for a normal life, Dally-chan," he said, shrugging. "It bothers me from time to time, but I don't let it keep me down permanently. Anyhow, you better get going. The traffic might get heavy."

"I'll make sure they're teleported there if trouble starts, Ataru-sama!"

That was Arai Rio, one of the younger of the Maidens of the People's Voice who had resettled in Tomobiki after the Liberation. "Keep them safe, Rio-chan!" he called out. "I'll give you something special once you get back here!"

That made the tomboyish middle school senior squeal as her cheeks reddened, then she ducked into the limousine's shotgun seat. As Tabitha Walters laughed on hearing that, the small convoy turned to ride down Kita-Teibō 4-dōri for the intersection with the Mejiro-dōri to head east across Tōkyō, the nightmares and their riders vanishing into cloaks of fog-like invisibility as they went off. Ataru watched them go, then he shook his head as he turned to step through the open doors of the Jōgenmon, walking down a hallway that extended the whole width of the old concession between Nishi-Teibō 7-dōri and Nishi-Teibō 8-dōri. Fortunately for his peace of mind, the Maidens of the People's Will who had purchased the houses in that concession between Kita-Teibō 6-dōri to the west and Kita-Teibō 3-dōri to the east had their own haijo-ju available to help keep such a vast conjoined building clean. And while some neighbours to the south had been surprised to see them set up a wide bridge-like series of bedrooms spanning over the street to join the eastern block of townhouses to the centre and western blocks, it hadn't drawn any sort of derision or demands to tear it down ever since it was erected in early March.

Now that it was all united with the expanded Moroboshi property, however...

He arrived at the wide double doors set up on the street allowance for Nishi-Teibō 8-dōri, opening one door to step inside before he walked over to the shoe locker to slip off his running shoes and put on some uwabaki. He then perked on sensing both his bond-mates awaiting for him at the inner doors, they smiling. "Have to do something to keep those girls happy," he noted as he walked over to join them, allowing them to embrace him from both sides so they could share kisses.

"'Tis a proper reward for young Rio. She has a good heart," Mizuho stated as they walked through the lower recreation room set up in the middle of the conjoined townhouses on the concession between Nishi-Teibō 8-dōri and Nishi-Teibō 9-dōri. Right now, a good number of the Kōbe girls had elected to ranch out in this part of the expanded property. Given their brief shared experience on the _Kōbe Dream_ after their rebirth, they needed a chance to spend time among each other, mend fences between them and think out what had happened to them to better prepare themselves for the very uncertain future that awaited them. While it had only just been a day since everyone had come down from the _Haida_ and only a few days since the twenty-three girls of Kawada Shōgo's old homeroom class had been brought to Earth, the chances for flareups were still there, especially if some of the horror stories that had been relayed to the Shiroiwa students and their friends were even half-true.

" _It's maximum flexibility, son_ ," Captain (Navy) Brian Gamblin, the commanding officer of H.M.C.S. _Haida_ , had told Ataru when people began moving off his ship to resettle themselves in a more familiar place. " _You have to be ready for it!_ "

"Bonjour, Ataru. Mizuho. Satomi."

All three turned, then Mizuho gracefully bowed as Satomi nodded her head and Ataru gave the approaching native of another dimension's Grenoble in le Département d'Isère sixty-five kilometres southeast of Lyon an appreciative look. The gorgeous woman with the long dark red hair in a simple ponytail, the tanned Latino skin and the mischievous hazel-green eyes was the daughter of a French trade representative at the consulate in Ōsaka who had the ill-luck to be sucked into _The Program_ when her class was selected to perform their "grave civic duty". Much to Ataru's personal horror, non-native students attending schools in the Greater East Asia Republic were not exempt from being forced to kill or die when their class' number came up.

Jeanne Marie Louise Amélie de Beauharnois was Kawada Shōgo's sixth kill during their class' episode in the back streets of the large port city in Hyōgo; caught up in the battle madness that had seized him when he moved to keep Inoue Keiko alive so she could survive it in the end, the doctor's son had simply put a bullet into the trade representative's daughter's head without even consciously noting what he was doing. Fortunately, the native of Grenoble had been more than happy to forgive him for that, especially after the Kōbe girls got the chance to read the _Battle Royale_ manga and comprehend why he had done that. Some of the other girls in her class had whispered to their new friends from Shiroiwa that Shōgo had privately asked Amélie to stand as his "best lady" when he and Keiko formalized their relationship after Mizuho was properly anointed as a priestess.

"Bonjour, Amé-chan," Satomi said as Amélie went to one knee and properly kissed Mizuho's hand as if the Shiroiwa native was a high Catholic bishop. It had been a weird joke for the Frenchwoman to perform on the daughter of two practitioners of Christian Science, but it was one of the many quirky things that the _Program_ players had begun doing as a way of trying to laugh at the insanity they had just been plunged into. "So how are things between you and Arisa-chan?"

The woman numbered as Girl #20 in the Kōbe class laughed. As the Shiroiwa people were quick to learn, the native of France had been befriended by Kawasawa Arisa (Girl #6), in the months leading up to that weekend when they were condemned to die. Many of the girls in both classes were convinced that sooner or later, marei'cha would bind the friends together in a bond tighter than the blood-sisterhood they had sworn when the daughter of a town councilman had vowed to protect the French trade representative's daughter from the racism and xenophobia being expressed to Amélie because she was a Westerner.

"Oh, it won't happen, Satomi," she assured them as she waved the three up a nearby set of stairs to the northeast row of townhouses that bordered the road allowance of Nishi-Teibō 9-dōri. "Actually, we got a surprise visitor."

"Who?!" Ataru demanded.

Amélie stayed silent as she waved them up to the second floor; the native of Grenoble had conditioned herself to shield the secret from the others' minds. They walked along the balcony of the recreation room to the foyer leading into the northeast townhouses of this particular part of the whole property. They then walked east past the doors of several one-person rooms that had been set up there. Even those people among the Shiroiwa and Kōbe class who hadn't solidified any sort of relationship with anyone would be given effective two-floor rooms with bedrooms on the second floor level of the whole complex and private bedrooms on mezzanine "balcony" levels that gave them a view of the surrounding scenery; this had been done to prevent issues of claustrophobia. The main floor rooms in this part of the complex had power dynamo rooms, water storage tanks and large communal bathrooms that could be shared between friends, not to mention equipment rooms for things like computers and the like. Amélie had taken over the far northeast room of this part of the complex, which overlooked the eastern wall of the property and the cul-de-sac that had been made of Nishi-Teibō 9-dōri before it would have intersected Kita-Teibō 3-dōri; the eastern wall of the expanded Moroboshi property had been deliberately set on the east side of that street's road allowance to allow masking trees to be planted there to keep nosy neighbours from peeking inside and trying to see what was going on. Her best friend from that class had the room right next door heading west. Ataru knew the houses to the northeast of that erased intersection were also empty, but had yet to be acquired by the Moroboshi Clan; the current space inside the expanded property was more than sufficient enough for the Shiroiwa class, the Kōbe class and the members of the _Battle Royale_ fan club from Ziegler's Cove, not to mention the Anderson County Amazons if they decided to move here and make this their permanent home. And there were those sekirei who were now becoming a new factor into lives here...

"Amé-chan?! Did you find them?!"

"Oui, Arisa!" Amélie called back.

The group walked into the living room of Arisa's apartment, then Ataru gaped on seeing a familiar face. "Hey, Shintarō! Just got let out of the brig, eh?!" he called out as he came over, hand out to shake that of Yoshida Shintarō's.

"Hai, Ataru-san, just did!" the vocational school graduate from Phentax Two born as Dasa dai-Kalith had been the person who had gathered up some "volunteers" to help crew the _Kōbe Dream_ when two old friends of his among the Maidens of the People's Voice, Osadi odai-Says (now Shimakaze Kanade) and her lover Dhen sudai-Tapth (now Tatenaka Maki), asked for help to finally locate the Genesis Wand of Parah and assist in restoring the male _Program_ players back as boys. While not a _Battle Royale_ fan of any sort, Shintarō had been completely awed on hearing of what had happened in Gestation Tower #98 at the time of the Liberation. To him, it was simply the right and humane thing to do; unlike many of his peers, the would-be space systems engineer just couldn't bring himself to see Avalonians as anything less than sentient beings who had been denied their right to live free because of things forced on them by others, not by some defect of birth or anything else.

"How soon with the others come, Master Shintarō?" Mizuho asked as he bowed deeply to her, then did the same to Satomi.

"Probably in a day or so," the shaggy black-haired man with the dark brown eyes said. "We did a lottery to see who would clear through the Special Committee's background checks first. I was the first one through the system."

"I'm glad for that," Arisa then said as she gave him a frank look.

He blushed. "A-a-Arisa-s-s-san...!"

"Shintarō, are you denying her desires?" Amélie teased as she gave the handsome alien-born teenager a knowing look.

He sputtered before he sighed. "I know Kanade and the others are moving to create the guys' bodies right now before their souls are brought over, Amélie-san! What if there was a guy in that class that was interested in Arisa-chan?"

Arisa squealed. "Much that your respect is most pleasing to see, Master Shintarō, I do believe that your close proximity to Mistress Arisa might make things as close between you two as they are between your beloved friends," Mizuho noted.

"Mizuho-sama...!"

"Relax, Shin-kun!" Arisa said as she moved to shove him down onto the couch, then she sat down in his lap, moving immediately to wrap his arms around her waist as she pressed her body against his. She was slightly shorter than he, with shaggy dark brown hair she allowed to grow to the level of her collarbones, bright green eyes peeking out of well-formed face. "Much that I know you wanted to fuck both Kanade-chan and Maki-chan, they've committed themselves to Ataru-kun here!" She then reached up to force his face over so they could stare into the other person's eyes. "You're MINE, buddy!"

She sealed that with a kiss that made him blush. "As you see, mes amis, Arisa is in more than excellent hands!" Amélie declared as she winked at the two Shiroiwa girls and their shared lover, she dramatically waving to Arisa and Shintarō.

" _ **ATARU-SAMA!**_ "

Ataru yelped, then he turned as a panting girl raced in, her eyes wide with total horror. "Gods! What is it, Maki-chan?!"

Tatenaka Maki stopped, panting hard as she tried to catch her breath; she had raced to this room at a dead sprint. "G-g-gomen n-n-nasai!" the orphaned native of Phentax Eighteen said as she gulped down air to replenish herself. "B-b-but...!"

 _ **Moroboshi Ataru, I have just detected the approach of the Eliminator.**_

Hearing the voice of Maki's personal _haijo-ju_ , the Torch of Soran, Ataru blinked again before he relaxed. "Oh, it's just..."

It hit him.

" _ **THE ELIMINATOR?!**_ "

As Satomi gasped in horror on hearing that, Mizuho looked northwest. "To me, my friend!" she barked, holding out her hand.

In a flash of energy, the Staff of Gihan was in her hand. _**I confirm the report of the Torch of Soran, Controller**_ , the ancient battle staff's on-board computer then reported. _**The Eliminator is now 22.7 minutes from making system-fall. She is currently accompanied by the elements of the Fourth Sagussan Republic fleet that Ki Tsukihana and Hakaru Ayami located over Den'sha Two. Atop that, there are other ships that appear to have been of post-Clone Rights War construction in that formation as well as the Mobile Science Station and the Main Dockyard.**_

"The dockyard where _Haida_ and her sisterships were built?!" Satomi asked.

 _ **The same dockyard, Noda Satomi.**_

"What about the Gatherer?" Ataru demanded.

 _ **I cannot detect the Gatherer...**_

The Staff then paused for a moment, before its focusing crystal then dimmed slightly. _**I am now in communication with Cassandra, the controlling sentience of the Eliminator, Moroboshi Ataru. She has just reported to me that the Gatherer was destroyed on Saturday 14 August 1999 thanks to the actions of an interdimensional entity calling itself 'Karmalibra', then possessing an alternate timeline version of Miyake Shinobu.**_ As Satomi stiffened and Mizuho closed her eyes while Maki looked ready to cry, the ancient battle staff added, _**On the day prior to that event, that version of Miyake Shinobu teleported into the Chamber of Eternity on Sagussa on a mission to kill off all the Daishi'cha. She nearly succeeded.**_

" _ **NO!**_ " Maki screamed out. " _ **THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!**_ "

 _ **It happened, Dhen sudai-Tapth**_ , the Staff firmly replied, which made the Niphentaxian-born priestess drop to her knees in horrified disbelief on hearing of the fate of the beings she had literally seen as the most divinely-touched sentients in the Universe. _**Fortunately, due to Moroboshi Ataru's prompting to Daishi'cha #22860, formerly Gilpizra of Falcros on Yehisril, to seek out the rejected Daishi'cha who were infected by a techno-organic virus that reacted badly to their regenerative enzymes after they were restored to life, a group of 4,915 Daishi'cha were able to preserve the mei'na of all the other Daishi'cha then on Sagussa and have them transplanted into intimate gynoid replicas of them, then moved them to the Mobile Science Station and safety. Due to the shattering of the empathic bonds between those Daishi'cha who met Moroboshi Ataru during his visit there between Wednesday 17 February and Saturday 10 April in 1999 because of his allowing the mei'na of Moroboshi Negako to be placed in his mind the following Wednesday, it took the original Daishi'cha #22861, formerly Givpizra of Falcros, and her companions eight years to restore the wounded Daishi'cha back to a semblance of normal behaviour. At the same time, they had to make sure Karmalibra and the person she was possessing would not take advantage of artifacts left on Sagussa to escape the planet and cause mischief elsewhere.**_

" **What happened?!** " Ataru sternly demanded as his left eye began to glow.

 _ **Josef Wilhelm von Taserich took note of what was happening on Sagussa when Tami Ugadese of Yiziba informed him of his rescue of Givpizra of Falcros and her sister Daishi'cha, then proceeded to Sagussa to honour a debt he owed my creator, Moroboshi Ataru**_ , the Staff declared. _**He was the one who finally destroyed that version of Miyake Shinobu and entrapped Karmalibra in an ebony mesonium holding crystal, which was then buried in the heart of the old clone storage facility at Tere'na-korgh. They just detonated a genesis bomb to destroy Karmalibra and help properly terraform all of Sagussa to return it to life-bearing capacity after the Clone Rights War destroyed so much. He is now bringing the injured Daishi'cha here to obtain new bodies for them from the Avalon bioroid factory.**_

Mizuho hissed. "Wise Lord, have mercy...!"

"Given how pissed off a lot of Avalonians are when it comes to the Daishi'cha, that's not going to go over well!" Satomi warned.

"Then may I offer my own services in this time?"

Heads turned to see the two people standing at the entrance to Arisa's living room. " **That will be a thing to see, Mister President** ," Ataru noted as he gazed hopefully on Abraham Lincoln, now accompanied by Moroboshi Negako.

"What is the Eliminator?" Shintarō asked.

Ataru shook his head as his eye returned back to normal. "Trust me, man! You DON'T want to know!"

"Mizuho, transport us aboard the Eliminator now," Negako bade.

Mizuho nodded. "Wait!" Maki declared. "Negako-sama, you can't go alone!"

"Calm down, young lady!" Lincoln said as he placed a warm hand on the young priestess' shoulder, making her blink in bewildered confusion at him. "I happen to know Josef a lot. Much that he tends to be devilishly direct at times, he isn't as evil as some people made him out to be in the recent world war. And if Mizuho's companion here says there was an honour debt between Josef and Professor Gihan, then Josef will do all in his power to see that honour debt fulfilled. All is well."

"Famous last words," Ataru muttered.

"You're staying right here," Satomi warned.

"He should go, Satomi-sama!" Maki objected. "He's the Chosen One!"

"Nay! Lady Maki, you and the others protect Beloved at this time!" Mizuho flatly declared, causing Maki to openly wince. "Until I can ascertain what our wounded cousins' actual emotional state is, I will not risk his safety. Be at peace, sister. I will not allow a war between them and our adopted sisters to break out, especially given how many lives now ride on there being peace in this part of the Wise Lord's Heavens! Come, my friends! 'Tis the Wise Lord's work to be done this day!"

And in flashes of energy, the three people disappeared...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) Like Mendō Tachiko, Megane's sister **Aisuru Tokiko** first appeared in _Avalonians at Hinata-sō_ , as did **Redet Danu** and **Miyake Saiko**. All three are based on the film-replica characters from the manga story "Love and Violence".

2) The "Neyote" Tokiko spoke of is this universe's version of the **Academician** of Yiziba. Her birth name is "Neyote Ratosa" and she would distantly resemble **Sakura Miyuki** of the sequel series of _Zenkoku Seifuku Bishōjo Grand Prix_ , known as _SenGra 97_. In other stories concerning the Yizibajohei, I use **Elizabeth Wakefield** of _Sweet Valley High_ as the current incarnation of the Academician, the leader of a group of hyper-genius polymaths calling themselves the **Circle of Thought**.

3) Translation list: **Go'on'yomi** — Literally "sound reading of the Wú Region", this is the way Chinese characters are read in Japanese using pronunciation based on the original language as it was brought to Japan through the Korean peninsula before the Heian Period (794-1185 CE); **Pirpirsiw'r** — Literally "most dangerous soldiers", these are genetically-enhanced warriors from Yehisril whose battle prowess was light-years beyond that of normal warriors from that world; **Mes amis** — My friends.

4) The **Pinkerton National Detective Agency** was first established in 1850 as a private security and private detective agency which became quite famous when agents of the group foiled a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln in February 1861 just before his first inauguration. At the height of its power, the group was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world; during the Civil War, it often also dabbled in military intelligence gathering as well as helping protect the President. In the years after that war, Pinkerton agents helped large companies do things like break up strikes and infiltrate early attempts at unionization. The agency would forever move away from strikebreaking after 1937 and would be acquired by Swedish group **Securitas AB** in 2003, along with its chief rival organization, then was reformed as Securitas' American subsidiary.

5) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character notes:

The Stormtroopers' girlfriends **Seiryōkuteki Tanoshii** , **Katsudōteki Aijōa** , **Sōzōteki Yasashii** and **Geijutsuteki Kenmei** first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Spirit-War Tomobiki", then would become the main players in the break-up of that group in the story "The Bodyguards' Denouement". I based the looks of Tanoshii, Aijōa and Kenmei on the unnamed Butsumetsu Girls students that Megane, Chibi and Kakugari found themselves following during the events of the fourth movie, _Lum the Forever_.

The **Eliminator** (AKA **Cassandra** ) was first mentioned in flashback in the premier story of _Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later_ , "Tomobiki 2001". The direct effect of what she did in that storyline was described in the _TSY_ story "Shinobu: Warrior-Princess of Kyotos".

 **Aruka Noa** (Daishi'cha #19282) is the woman who effectively ensured Moroboshi Ataru and Redet Lum would come together as a couple in _TSY_. What she exactly did is explained in the story "Noa". She is physically based on the character of **Izumi Noa** from the Headgear anime OVA and television series _Kidō Keisatsu Patlabor_ , which was created by former Yatsura anime director **Oshii Mamoru** (born 1951) and would be voiced by many _Yatsura_ seiyū such as Megane's voice actor Chiba Shigeru. The Noa of _TSY_ and this story is a Seishin-Urusian; she would have that sub-race's tapered ears and fanged canine teeth.

The version of Miyake Shinobu calling herself " **Scalphunter** " first appeared in the _TSY_ side story "Shinobu: Futures Imperfect". Her "divine" patron, **Karmalibra** , made its full appearance in the _TSY_ side story "Revenge and Redemption".

 **Givpizra** of Falcros (Daishi'cha #22861A) was first introduced in the _TSY_ side story "The Ones Left Behind". In that story, I gave her the Terran name "Sylvie" as I modelled her after the 33-S sexaroid Sylvie (in my stories, **Sylvie Terreblanche** ) from the fifth _Bubblegum Crisis_ OVA, "Moonlight Rambler". Her birth-name was mentioned in the _TSY_ side story "Lufy's Quest".

The **Lannarkites** first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Tag Race Mark Three".

The **A'g'san** were effectively introduced with **Shogai Dakejinzō** in the _TSY_ story "Arrive Reiko-chan"; they were not named as such in that series as their origins wouldn't have been further explored until later stories in _Twenty Years Later_.

 **Gilpizra** of Falcros (Daishi'cha #22860) first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Mie's Story". She was modelled on the character of **Asagiri Priscilla** from _Bubblegum Crisis_ ; in _TSY_ , she took the name "Priss". Her birth-name was mentioned in "Lufy's Quest".

6) _Sekirei_ character notes:

 **Asama Miya** is the "nest elder" and the "pillar" of the Kamikura-jima flock. Originally seen as "Sekirei #0", she was later designated "Sekirei #1" and would form a relationship with **Asama Takehito**. She would first appear in the manga story "Gate of A New Home" (manga chapter #2). Due to the circumstances of Takehito's death, Miya doesn't particularly care for MBI.

 **Minaka Hiroto** is pretty much the chief antagonist of the series. Enough said about him!

The "Sahashi" spoke of here is **Sahashi Takami** , Minaka's girlfriend at the time of the discovery of the nest ship and the mother of the main protagonist of the series, **Sahashi Minato**. It would be later revealed that Minaka is Minato's father.

7) _Battle Royale_ character notes:

 **Matsui Chisato** 's crush on **Mimura Shinji** was explored in the side story manga series _Angel's Border_ ; it was also in this series that **Tanizawa Haruka** 's crush on **Utsumi Yukie** was also revealed and explored further. While a manga series, _Angel's Border_ follows the original novel continuity.

The name of Shinji's uncle, **Mimura Shingo** , is my invention.

 **Jeanne Marie Louise Amélie de Beauharnois** (Kōbe 2nd District Junior High School Class 3-B Student #20) is the name I give to the "French exchange student" that Kawada Shōgo mentioned that he killed in the manga story "The Identity of the Heart" (manga chapter #100). Her best friend, **Kawasawa Arisa** (Girl #6), is my own creation.

8) _Buffy_ and _Angel_ character notes:

The **Brachen** are a race of humanoid demons, the vast majority of them being half-breeds with human ancestry. They were first mentioned in the premier episode of _Angel_ , "City Of". One of Angel's early allies, Allen Francis Doyle, was a half-breed with a pureblood Brachen father; he was an agent of the **Powers That Be** , spiritual counterparts to the Old Ones. Doyle's own father, **Axtilus** , was first mentioned in the 2003 _Buffy_ / _Angel_ crossover novel _Monster's Island_ , written by Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski. It was also in that novel that Axtilus' organization, the **Coalition for Purity** , was first introduced.

The **Scourge** were an organization dedicated to destroy all "half-breed" demon-descent sentients on Earth in a prequel to the extermination of the human race and Earth's reclamation by demonkind. The organization first appeared in the ninth episode of _Angel_ 's first season, "Hero". The group's current leader as depicted in this story, **Tiernan** , appeared in that same episode.

9) **Bauximite** , like mesonium, is a transuranic element I created for use in my stories. Hyper-charged with hydrogen, it is even more explosive than nitroglycerine and could easily wreck things with just small quantities. The mixing of mesonium with bauximite allows the latter's destructive effects to not get anywhere close to what pure plutonium could unleash. In the universe of my stories, bauximite is a very rare element, but can be created through careful fusion chemistry.

10) **Mollie Bean** was a real person. In real life, she was a North Carolinian who disguised herself as a man and fought for the Confederacy until nearly the end of the war, serving as part of the 47th North Carolina Volunteer Infantry. I first learned of her from Harry Turtledove's wonderful 1993 alternate history novel _The Guns of the South_. Mollie's history in the universe of my stories and her direct interaction with Abraham Lincoln as noted here is better explained in _Magic and Canada_.


	5. A Beacon of Hope

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **The domicile of the Maidens of the People's Voice (south of the Moroboshi home), lunchtime...**_

"Oh, he is so handsome...!"

Hearing that gushing comment from Mendō Tachiko, Manabe Satoko grinned, her face beaming with pride at such an accomplishment. "It's a lucky thing we were able to detect his soul fragment finally. It took us a while to track him down, Tachiko-san," the leader of the Maidens of the People's Voice said before she grinned at the doctor's son from Kōbe in another dimension who assisted in this case. "Thanks for helping out in this case, Shōgo-kun. We really needed it this time."

"You...could have...made me a girl...you know. It was only fair..."

Hearing that from the near-exact replica of Moroboshi Ataru now on a bed overlooking the cul-de-sac of Kita-Teibō 5-dōri that used to run past the west side of the city block where the original Moroboshi home had been built, the others in the room smirked. "Chill, man," Kawada Shōgo stated as the film-replica of Ataru that had been created at the same time as Tachiko and her sisters back in September slowly got up from the bed, dressed now in plain pyjamas. "You didn't have the power to create male bioroids at the time Taeko-sensei found Tachiko-san and the others, so there was no choice in the manner. Now there is the choice. I don't give a flying fuck what the idiots leading the government on the factory say; if someone's male and wants to live as a male, let it be that way! After what happened today, it's fucking obvious that the demons and all the other interdimensional critters who've been trying to screw around with people's lives on Earth aren't liking the fact that Avalonians are doing everything they can to make things better for locals. They can't sustain themselves if people get the higher levels of mesonium in their blood Avalonians have, so they're desperate to foul things up as much as possible to stay in control."

Seated nearby, Ataru himself could only shake his head. He had a shell-shocked look on his face; learning minutes before that Sagussa's ultimate warship was now minutes away from making system-fall over Earth — to say anything of what happened to the people who had influenced his life long before he effectively acquired sisters in Moroboshi Negako, Moroboshi Hiromi and Moroboshi Tariko — was making him very tempted to allow the Cyborg side of his soul out to serve as some sort of anvil to keep his emotions in check. He then blinked as Noda Satomi's hand squeezed his shoulder in reassurance, a flood of love and support from the bookstore owner's daughter causing his own heart to calm down. Gazing fondly at her, he smiled before they shared a kiss, knowing the other people in the room — including Ataru's effective new brother — would sense that.

"I'm so jealous of you, Aniki..."

Hearing that, Ataru chuckled. "You wanna be named 'Rinrin'?"

Laughter escaped his new brother; _Sister Princess_ was one of many video games that Moroboshi Ataru had taken a liking to given its emphasis on the creation of a real family in lieu of what he had grown up with, especially after Ataru's twin brother had died and his body vanished. "You sure you want to be named 'Kaeru'?" Ataru then asked. "Chances are there..."

"That Aniki is alive out there somewhere," the newly-woken bioroid noted before shaking his head, then he looked out the window at the cityscape beyond the borders of a home much more welcoming to him than what he had "grown" up in as Ataru. "Maybe. But if that's true, he's either still in bed sick as a dog because of his asthma or was healed, then was adopted by much better people that the sorry fucks we got stuck with. He probably has a shit-hot lover atop that!" He then flustered; in the class film about school violence Ataru tried to make, he would have played the role of a social worker trying to help the delinquents (to have been played by Redet Hensō, Miyake Shinobu, Mendō Shūtarō and the core members of Lum's Stormtroopers) reform. Given the heavy influence of people like Tachiko when he had been disembodied, Moroboshi Kaeru now found it quite easy to be profane even if his role hadn't called for that in the film. "If he comes back, we'll see then."

"So 'Kaeru' it is," Satomi declared. "We better give Kay-san and Jay-san a call."

"I already did, Satomi-san," Satoko stated. "They're on standby to help because of the issue with the Eliminator and the arriving Sagussan fleet. Once that's dealt with, they'll be by to help register Kaeru as a landed immigrant."

"Tell them to send a message to Baka Tō-san about it, too!" Ataru noted.

A sly grin crossed the kyūdō-ka's face. "Naturally!"

Laughter filled the room...

* * *

 _ **On the southern hemisphere of the planetoid Ceres in the asteroid belt, that moment...**_

"Welcome to United Nations Earth Defence Force Station Ceres, Lady Paishu. Peace, logic and harmony to you."

"I accept you welcome, Lady Danu. Hail and well met, kinsman!"

Hearing that from the seriously beautiful blue-skinned human who had just teleported down from her personal cruiser a moment before, Redet Danu smiled as she walked over, her hands out to gently grasp the hands of Redet Paishu, the youngest of the twenty-five children officially claimed by the First Mage of the Dominion as his own. Given she was a woman of the same age as Danu as well as the youngest child of Redet Belok, the chances of the beautiful raven-haired woman with the dark turquoise green eyes to inherit land and title of her own unless she married a titled lord of the Dominion were literally lower than zero. However, like most Seifukusu females, she was light years more intelligent than any of her brothers or father; these days, she served as chief strategic advisor to her older brother Lord General Redet Trosan (Belok's eleventh child), who was now commanding an expeditionary fleet in the Cygni 61 system eleven light-years away from Earth. Much to the surprise of Redet Hensō's film-replica, Trosan had proven to be quite a forward-thinking fellow; while his chance of inheriting his clan's seat on the Magate Round were very slim unless something happened to all his elder siblings, he did publicly support the idea of the Dominion drawing back its outer borders in this sector of space to allow the Terrans and Avalonians new places to settle as a way of cutting down all the massive military expenditures that constantly were a drain on Seifukusu finances.

That had been quite a surprise to the current civilian chief of the Ceres observation post. Such had been seized by the Avalonians after the Liberation, its crew of female Seishin-Urusian observers — all of whom were fanatic supporters of the Imperial Round — being replaced by bioroid clones to ensure that the information they scanned from Earth's communication networks was edited to ensure no intelligence of the formation of the Earth Defence Force would get to Onishuto; the original crew had been taken by the Noukiites and condemned to Hichkyech'eng Prison to ensure no one would suspect the truth. While the current leader of the Defence Intelligence Directorate in the Urusian capital city, Danu's adopted sister Redet Negau, was now aware of what was going on here, she kept such secret from all, even President Hozan Lana.

Given the potential volatility of Urusian politics with the downfall of the Imperial Round, it was just being smart.

Danu smiled as Paishu gently kissed her on the lips. Their tongues played briefly for a bit before they pulled apart. "Do I kiss well enough for Ataru-sama, kinsman?" the mage's daughter teasingly asked as she gave Hensō's twin a knowing look.

The Oni-form Avalonian "gang leader" purred. "Well, I'll have to get you into my private chambers so my wife and I can examine you quite thoroughly before we present you to Darling to be one of his dolls. You'll have to undergo a body-swap as well," she then meowed playfully as she took Paishu's hand in their own and they walked out of the teleportation chamber. Said unit had been replaced by a proper materializer so that any attempt at invasion by anyone through that room could have weapons automatically screened out before they were allowed to step onto the planetoid that had once been rated as a planet before it was "downgraded" in classification in the 1850s by Terran astronomers. "Thanks for not bringing in bodyguards, Pai-chan," Danu then added. "Even if the others here are sisters, they would have made the staff here nervous."

Paishu nodded. "Hai, they can be a bit of a chore at times, but they do care for me," she stated as they walked down a hallway into the main observation room, a circular chamber that had been buried a hundred metres under the floor of the Annona Crater. Since the planetoid had a daily rotation of a little over nine hours in Earth time, the crater that had been selected in the southern hemisphere near the prime meridian of Ceres as marked by Terran observers would be facing in the general direction of the third planet of Sol for at least half of a local day, which made it perfect for communications monitoring. To protect the base from a potential meteor strike, a special shielding system which was now augmented with Avalonian technology was fitted into the structure to keep it safe from something that could wreck it without warning and kill everyone inside.

At the central chair of the room, Miyake Saiko looked over. Like Danu, Miyake Shinobu's film replica was dressed in normal civilian clothes, though hers was more grunge-looking than anything Ataru's former girlfriend would see as proper. "Hey!"

Danu then introduced Paishu to her bond-mate. The ten other women in the room — one of four shifts of equal numbers who did dual duty as "observers" and maintenance technicians — also got the chance to greet the visiting mage's daughter. After all the warm kisses and hugs exchanged, Paishu's cheeks were almost as dark as onyx from such intimate contact. While she was quite the social liberal among her people, she had been strictly raised since birth to always view other races as "lesser" than her own, which had helped maintain the frigid "cold war" between the Seifukusu Dominion and the Galactic Federation for centuries. To meet people who physically resembled a former "slave" race and to be greeted as if she was one of them was something Paishu found a little hard to accept...though she had to admit that if all Avalonians were like this...!

"So what's the news about our sisters from Sagussa, Joran?" Danu then asked.

The "chief" of the observation unit, Aruka Joran, smirked. She was a tomboyish silver-haired woman with golden-brown eyes appearing to be twenty. Like the others pretending to be personnel of Uru's external intelligence agency, she was dressed in the uniform of the Urusian Defence Force, Marine Corps captain's insignia on her collars. In real life, the Seishin-form Avalonian was a brevet captain in the Canadian Army, administratively part of the newly-formed 5 Intelligence Battalion, a Militia unit of 29 Canadian Intelligence Brigade, the Army side of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Group, headquartered in Whitby east of Toronto. Once the threat level from Uru was determined to be reduced to the point where Ceres' "destruction" could then be arranged without reaction from anti-Terran forces in Onishuto, Joran would move back to Earth and begin to train in her chosen occupation and serve her unit. All the other women assigned here were seen as adopted natives of the Dominion and reserve members of the Intelligence Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces; one of H.M.C.S. _Haida_ 's standing secondary missions was to come support the Ceres detachment of the Intelligence Group if there was need for a "bug-out".

"The Eliminator has come to a stop at the orbit of Mars on an approach path to Earth, Danu," the adopted native of a village on the colony world of Shingetsu answered as she gazed on Danu, her bond-mate and their guest. Blushing slightly on seeing the pretty azure-skinned woman there, Joran took a deep breath; all her co-workers were quick to sense her attraction to the new girl in their midst. That was understandable, of course; despite all the Avalonians here being quite willing to be lovers to each other when they needed a good romp in the sack, it was rare for new people to come by here. Especially someone as exotic looking as Redet Paishu. "The Main Dockyard is now being moved to the third Sol-Earth libration point. The Mobile Science Station is being shifted to the third Sol-Mars libration point. As for the fleet that accompanied the Eliminator, they are in defensive formation around her. No response from Admiral Thompkins or her staff as to what will happen..."

"Captain, message from _Haida_!"

That was Bren Synda, a raven-haired woman who was ranked a sergeant in the Urusian Marine Corps; she had become a reservist of the Canadian Air Force in real life. Because of this, she was administratively part of l'Escadron du Renseignement no. 16 "Ville de Hull", one of the new Air Force division-level intelligence support units that had been formed in recent months by Avalonian-Canadian volunteers. Said squadron was headquartered at the Gatineau Executive Airport on the other side of the Ottawa River from the nation's capital; it was operationally tasked to support Headquarters 3 Canadian Air Division though it was administratively part of 15 Canadian Air Group (Intelligence), the Air Force side of the Intelligence Group.

"On screen," Danu ordered.

"Hai, Danu-chan!"

The main view screen clicked on, revealing the image of one of Earth's most celebrated metahuman warriors and the operational top-boss of everyone currently living on Ceres. "Hey, Obaba!" Danu called out.

"Hello, girls," Heather Thompkins called back from the operations room of the Canadian star battleship now in orbit over Toronto. "Have any of you got into communication with the yahoos in charge aboard that big fleet out there?"

"Not yet," Danu reported before she waved to the Seifukusu mage's daughter, who had bowed low immediately on recognizing the friend of Earth's Jewel Warrior. Even in the worlds of the Dominion, those women who became Hosts to the last living remnants of the First Race were treated with the most profound respect, no matter if they had been born of slave races or Seifukusu. And the fame of the War Hawks had made it all the way to Dominos; there was no way that even the most adventurous Seifukusu mage would ever contemplate attacking Earth as long as the veterans of the Second World War were still alive. "Miss Paishu came to visit us under flag of truce to discuss things concerning her brother's fleet at Cygni 61 when the Sagussan fleet arrived. We have been trying to send hails to the Eliminator, but there's been no response from them."

"Do you think they might assume this station's controlled by Negau's people?" Saiko wondered as she crossed her arms.

Danu hummed. "Possibly..."

« _ **Be at peace, everyone!**_ »

People gasped. "Mizuho-san!" Saiko called out.

« _ **Be calm, Mistress Saiko! I just transported myself, Master Abraham and my sister-in-law aboard the unyielding Eliminator at this time. We've yet to meet the Undying One or any of our cousins from lost Sagussa at this time...**_ »

"JOSEF is behind all this?!" Heather demanded.

« _ **You sound surprised, Heather.**_ »

Everyone gasped on hearing that cold man's voice, it echoed with the sharp and disciplined tones of a kingdom long since faded into the history books. "How in God's name did YOU get to THAT planet of all places?!" Heather demanded of the man some on Earth viewed as the spiritual grandfather of the Protector of All Life, her old commanding officer Dean Raeburn.

« _ **My dear Heather, the old Sagussans and the Karollans were not the ONLY race that left highly-advanced artifacts on Earth and other planets for enterprising people to discover**_ ,» Josef von Taserich replied, a touch of amusement in his voice. « _ **You can now add the Anquietas to that list as the Americans now know. You would be amazed at what I found in Antarctica shortly after Robert Falcon Scott made a failed attempt of reaching the South Pole and surviving in 1912.**_ »

The commander of the Earth Defence Force gaped. "You have a STARGATE?!"

« _ **How else do you think I could spend time on Yiziba all these years?**_ »

As Danu shuddered on hearing THAT name, Heather moaned. "Oh, wonderful..."

* * *

 _ **United States Joint Space Station Arlington (in geostationary orbit over the border of Colombia and Ecuador west of San Miguel), that moment (local time: Monday 19 July, an hour before midnight)...**_

"Oh, my dear God...!"

The President of the United States of America could only shake his head. As soon as the alert arrived at the White House concerning the arrival of one of the most powerful starships known to exist, the Secret Service had moved to evacuate Barack Obama and his family out of the capital city and onto America's flagship space station, which served as the detached space headquarters for both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defence. He was currently seated in the central chair poised in the very middle of the central operations room of JSS Arlington, the combined NASA and DOD staff working hard to collect and collate information for the commander-in-chief's attention. Standing next to him was his chief USSS bodyguard, Andrea Price, as well as Major General Wayne West, the former commander of Project: Giza and the current commander of Joint Starbase Arlington, America's first space-based military formation.

"How the hell did the _Rittmeister_ of all the people on Earth get hold of a _**Stargate**_ of all things, Colonel?" West then demanded as he gazed upon the senior German military liaison to JSS Arlington.

"As you can probably understand, _Herr Generalmajor_ , our government lost all track of the _Rittmeister_ right after the Second World War ended," Luftwaffe Colonel Evi Maurer said. She was a rated pilot on both the Panavia Tornado ADV and the local version of the Starfire space tactical combat fighter; in the German Air Force and many other NATO air warfare services that supported the Earth Defence Force, Ki Tsukihana's remarkable design was designated the "Airbus A596 Starfire". Like many women serving in uniform these days across Earth, Evi Maurer had allowed herself to undergo a body-swap to help her better serve her country and fly something as incredible as the Starfire. Musing on her model-perfect looks, MajGen West didn't for an instant doubt that the personal vanity of the native of Emden hadn't suffered a bit at that change. "Given also the sheer level of security when it comes to the Stargate that your people discovered in Egypt many years ago, no one in government — not even our friends in the _Bundesministerium für Magische Angelegenheiten_ — thought to look for such a thing."

"Hiromi did warn us about the Stargate's true potential," the President stated.

"Do you need me to talk to him, Barack?"

That was the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, now currently aboard Bundesbefehlshaberstelle Tiergarten on the 14th Meridian east of Greenwich, which put her directly over the border between Gabon and the Republic of the Congo at the eastern border of Mwagne National Park in the former country. Like the American chief of state had done when the warning alert got to Washington an hour ago, the German head of government had evacuated to her country's primary space station in case a ground attack was launched by the Eliminator; the capabilities of the first of Sagussa's Type 61 super-dreadnoughts were all too well known to all of Earth's heads-of-state and heads-of-government. "Do you think he'll listen to you, Angela?" the former senator from Illinois then asked. "Given that he's more used to dealing with royalty..."

"I met him once when he visited Rügen a couple years ago," she stated, making the people in the command room at Arlington gape at that revelation from Angela Merkel. "Took me a couple minutes to recognize him, but when I did, I nearly passed out!" As the President chuckled, the Chancellor added, "He was quite impressed that I got appointed to the _Bundeswaschmaschine_ in Berlin." As laughter echoed in the background at that often-used nickname for the offices of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, the former chemist and adopted native of old East Germany who had been born in Hamburg shortly after the end of the Second World War added, "He told me when I asked him what he was doing with his life that he was researching 'interesting things'. When I discussed this with our magical friends, they confirmed it wouldn't be his 'experiments'."

"Thank God..."

The others in the room shuddered. The ghastly fate that had befallen almost all of the Übermenschen Gruppe during World War Two had made many who had studied the hidden side of that conflict wonder at the sanity of someone like Josef von Taserich. Then again, given that people like Barack Obama and Angela Merkel knew of the many magical beings, the Immortals, the demons and other interdimensional travellers that were normally dealt with by Buffy Summers and her friends and the alien races whose presence on Earth was controlled by the Men In Black, what the immortal Prussian warlord had done in his many millennia of life didn't seem so surprising. What the American leader had often concluded when it came to understanding the Undying Lord was how _**bored**_ the man must have been at times, being physically frozen in time and becoming virtually unkillable while even long-lived Immortals such as Methos could easily die by beheading.

Still, given what happened to Taserich's effective "son" Hosan Hirosuke...!

The President sighed as he tapped a control on his dataPADD. "Stephen?"

"Dean's already been alerted, Barack," the Canadian Prime Minister called over from Canadian Space Agency Station Aurora, which was four stations to the east from JSS Arlington and in direct orbit over southern Colombia.

The former senator from Illinois nodded...

* * *

 _ **At Mars' orbit, that moment...**_

"Wise Lord have mercy...!"

The place was as emotionally cold as a crypt.

Looking around the observation lounge located at the aft end of the superstructure of Sagussa's ultimate warship near the large stardrive engines that allowed the Eliminator to move through deepest space at speeds that would boggle the imagination of warp engineers across the local cluster, Inada Mizuho could only shake her head in sorrow at the feelings of miasma emanating from the many women who had been gathered there in the dome-like space. Representing over two dozen races, these women had been effectively reborn thanks to the regeneration matrix of Sagussa's moon Sagurei and given new life. A life once ruled by the cold logic descent of the post-Clone Rights War generation that tried to salvage what was left of the Fourth Republic in the wake of such destruction, then elected to start it totally anew like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its old body. While there was no sign of any potential threat in any of these people, the would-be warrior-priestess couldn't begin to ignore how grief-stricken they all were. Even if the news of the fact that their first Daimon'cha hadn't died over a decade ago when he had taken up the Sacred Promise of Bunka-gonen and became the last living host of the Earth Angel had got out thanks to the man who had effectively saved all their lives, they still couldn't really accept in their hearts.

If Ataru saw them now...!

Shaking her head, Mizuho took a moment to examine all the form-fitting jumpsuits these women now wore. Fortunately for her, the Daishi'cha followed a very simple colour-coding system for their uniforms to identify what general task they would have performed in the execution of the Grand Design for the Fifth Republic. She then paused on seeing a tall, well-formed woman in central government black with gold piping and boots, not to mention the stylized windrider insignia that framed a considerable amount of cleavage. Walking over while both her sister-in-law and Abraham Lincoln moved to examine the others there, she stopped before the other woman, surprised to note that she looked very much like Sakurambō Sakura, right down to the long silky black hair and the smoky grey eyes. "Madame," Mizuho then politely greeted.

The woman looked up, an empty stare on her face. She then blinked as confusion flashed in her orbs. Sensing that, Mizuho tried not to scream; even if this reborn Terran was effectively alive in the most fundamental sense of all, her gynoid body didn't allow her to make use of any of the psionic powers she had received at her rebirth well over two millennia ago. The would-be warrior-priestess was quick to see the sequential number 7728 on the upper sleeves of her top. "Hai...?" she whispered in a voice that was nowhere close to Sakura's husky contralto, but that of a girl who had been abused far too much in her life.

It reminded Mizuho too much of Sōma Mitsuko.

"Do you have a name?"

A shake of the head responded. "No..." She then sniffed. "We were waiting for Ataru-sama to come back and give us names. I don't remember my previous life at all, unlike a lot of the younger Daishi'cha these days." A shudder then rocked her body. "That woman who attacked us...called me 'Sakura'. I don't understand the significance of the name though. She said...Ataru-sama gave it to me. But Ataru-sama was too young at the time he visited us to consider that..."

 _ **That is the name the other-dimensional version of Miyake Shinobu knew your counterpart in her universe as, Daishi'cha #7728**_ , the Staff of Gihan explained as Lincoln moved to comfort a shuddering African-Terran in the uniform of a government administrative officer nearby and Negako examined a small group of Pathfinder naval infantry warriors on the other side of the dome. _**In that reality, Moroboshi Ataru named your counterpart after his school nurse and health teacher, Sakurambō Sakura. She eventually came to make use of that full name, including the family name, in the wake of the final passing of her namesake on Earth in the spring of 2025. Whether the Terran Sakurambō Sakura knew of that, I cannot ascertain from the fragmented memories you absorbed from your attacker before your mind was forced to undergo tre'cha.**_

That made the would-be government minister blink before she slowly nodded. "Then I shall be Sakurambō Sakura," she said, which made Mizuho privately smirk as she imagined how those people in Tomobiki who still fawned over the now-crippled Shintō shrine miko/school nurse would react to meeting a far more friendlier version of her. Much that this version of Sakura was still quite thoroughly devoted to Moroboshi Ataru, she understood fundamentally her main task of bringing forth the first native-born generation of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa. That ultimately required her to mate with _multiple_ males to promote the greatest level of genetic diversity and ensure no inbreeding issues far in the future. "Can I see Ataru-sama?"

"No, Mistress Sakura, not yet," the would-be warrior-priestess stated, which made many of the Daishi'cha listening to this gasp in pained horror. "Sisters, please do not misunderstand me! I can sense your love and devotion to him. That shines like all the stars in the night sky." As the Daishi'cha then brightened on hearing that support from their beloved Daimon'cha's Other, she added, "However, in the years since he helped your hearts fully awaken after the Lady Noa brought him to be with all of you for a spell, he has endured much in the way of emotional and physical abuse, from his witless parents to his so-called friends and even to his would-be wife despite the horrid curse that had befallen her thanks to the Lady Zōju of the Oak Forest." As people groaned in guilt-driven horror at that, Mizuho sighed before she took a deep breath, then she announced, "He is now the living avatar of the _**Master of Entropy**_ , sisters. No doubt, when he visited Sagussa, the Master sensed something was very wrong with the Grand Design and gave my beloved the power to stop it if necessary."

"If he desires us to die, then we die."

Mizuho's head snapped over, then she moaned. Seated nearby was a woman in government administration evergreen with black trim, boots and windrider. She looked to be a physical sister of Miyake Shinobu of all people, though it had been well over eight millennia since her rebirth as the number 2530 on her arms declared. Realizing she might have been one of the first native-born Japanese who migrated to the Home Islands from Korea before her first life ended, the would-be warrior-priestess walked over to gaze intently into the other woman's dark brown eyes. "Will you _**live**_ for my beloved, Mistress Shinobu?"

That made the other woman jerk in shock before she flustered. "How...?"

"Methinks my beloved's counterpart in the universe of your would-be killer may have elected to simplify the procedure to give your counterparts proper names since I am well aware that my beloved loathes the use of mere _**numbers**_ for such beautiful women." As all the Daishi'cha blushed madly at that frank appraisal while both Lincoln and Negako nodded in approval of Mizuho's complimentary words, the native of Shiroiwa then added, "While it may get confusing when you meet your namesake in Tomobiki since she is my sister-in-law through Beloved's twin sister Tariko, I'm sure that once you settle down, you could also be accepted as 'Miyake Shinobu'. After all, it would be spitting in the face of that daēva that came to you when you were hurt and moved to kill you for a crime you didn't commit. Nor do I believe your counterpart ever committed to her."

That made the newly-named Shinobu blink, then she shrugged. "Then I'll be 'Sakurambō Shinobu' instead. Eoeoeiio..." Here, she blushed as she sent an apologetic look to the older-looking government officer nearby. "Sorry..."

"You were to bond?"

"Hai," Sakura said, her own cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

Mizuho nodded. "Then once you are returned to flesh-and-blood, let it be done."

"Why would the damned skin-jobs want to help us?"

The would-be warrior-priestess looked over to see a tomboyish girl in engineering crimson-and-gold nearby, she seated beside a beautiful woman in the mixed clothing of a defence force engineer (dark blue top, red pants and gold trim, boots and windrider). Again, Mizuho felt a slight sense of unreality strike her hard while part of her began to realize why certain people Ataru had chased in the months before he was finally broken away from Redet Hensō had attracted him so much. The engineer could easily be Fujinami Ryūnosuke's twin sister and her companion looked like Shiowatari Nagisa could have been had she been born a girl in the first place in lieu of undergoing a body-swap to honour her late father Shin's desire to have had a daughter atop a strong son before his wife had died. The former had the number 1123 on her arms; that made her nearly nine millennia old in her current life even if almost all of it had been spent in cryogenetic storage in the Chamber of Eternity outside the site of Sagussa's world capital, Tere'na City. The latter had the number 13303 on her arms, which made over nine hundred years old. "I assume, Mistress Ryūnosuke, you voted against retrieving the factory?"

"A lot of us did!" the other woman snapped, her eyes tearing. "Why in Lyna's name did we have to help them?! The central computer on that thing had defences that would have prevented a bioroid from being hurt! They could have saved themselves from those kimei'aidoei when they enslaved them!" She hissed before looking away. "We had enough problems on our own..."

«Wow!» Noda Satomi's voice echoed in her co-wife's head. «This is even worse than I predicted before you went up there with Negako and Oji-san to look in on these girls, Mizuho. We definitely keep that one away from the Avalonians.»

«Agreed,» Mizuho breathed out. "Mistress Ryūnosuke, much that I understand how easy it could have been for the first generation of modern Avalonians to have avoided the whole enslavement issue with the Niphentaxians, it happened and there are many who were born after that fact who never knew a time of being fully free until the Liberation. Whether you chose right or wrong concerning that, only the Wise Lord can decide in the end. However, if your attitude is prevalent among the Daishi'cha, be warned that Ataru will never accept you." As the engineer and many others in the room croaked in horror on hearing that, the would-be warrior-priestess shook her head. "He is not the wide-eyed, innocent boy Lady Noa brought to your sick and wrecked world over a decade ago to help awaken all your hearts. He now has the blood of _**thousands**_ on his hands, gained on the Plain of Morningstar when he fought alongside the Dragonspeaker of Noukiios to forever end the banditry in the Outmarches, to say nothing of the thousands of Niphentaxians he killed in the Liberation and the thousand or so more expat Urusians from Konton he slew on the Ides of March." As people there began to sob on hearing that, Mizuho sighed. "I doubt he will ever serve as your Daite'cha, so move on and make yourselves recover from what that daēva did to you all."

Her eyes narrowed. "Move to hurt him even by your mad devotion to him..." she coldly declared, " _ **...and I will BREAK you!**_ "

Many in the room all cringed on hearing that threat...

* * *

 _ **On the bridge...**_

" _That is a nasty woman._ "

"Given what she has experienced in her life, that is understandable."

An amused chuckle escaped the Eliminator's central consciousness as Josef von Taserich took a sip of the beautiful peach brandy that was one of old Sagussa's more popular alcoholic beverages. Standing close to him now was a young Yehisrite-born woman in government black-and-gold, a minister's three wreath-of-laurel "stripes" on her lower arms. Possessing green-tinted blonde hair and soulful blue eyes, the woman born Anra of Falcros had been the heir of a baroness in her first life when she had been slain by a rival in the same incident that had also killed two of the Most Dangerous Ones. Anra had been given the sequential number 22862 on her rebirth. Thanks to meson-powered medial nanites in her body which had been put there by a Vosian doctor when she suffered from a bad flu however, the regeneration matrix mutated and threatened to kill off the other Daishi'cha hadn't the reborn baroness accepted she would not serve the Grand Design. Because of that, her body, that of her rival Hisrana of Falcros and that of one of her bodyguards had been placed in sealed cryogenetic tanks and sent into space. They would be later found by the God Who Walks Among Men, cured of their wounds, then returned to their adopted homeworld to find those who had abandoned them had themselves nearly died thanks to their blind devotion to a child.

"She would make a more agreeable Daite'cha," Anra then mused.

Taserich gazed on her. "You don't care for Ataru, _Freiin_ Anra?"

"Respectfully, Thoughtmaster-prime, I've never _**met**_ the man," the would-be baroness from Yehisril's most well-known lost principality noted with a wry smile. "He did wonders to the others when he came to Sagussa, but the others weren't the least bit prepared for the amount of empathy he had. They were all smitten by him far too much, which is what that fake 'princess' needed to strike them all down." She shook her head as she recalled putting rounds from her personal defence pistol into the snarling beast calling herself "Scalphunter" in the final mission to retrieve the bodies of the companion gynoids from the Chamber of Eternity six years ago, thus trapping the dimension-hopping Terran-turned-Sagussan on the wrecked planet while the Daishi'cha retreated to the Mobile Science Station then in orbit over Sen'sha Seven. "Given what Thoughtmistress-prime Mizuho just said about what he's endured, it wouldn't surprise me that he rejects having anything to do with us ever again. The others effectively abandoned him to a pair of child abusers in a town so full of Entropy, it deserved the name it was given: _**Toghmoghbiki**_!" She spat out the name of the cradle of Entropy that, in the creation myths of the Fourth Republic, had to be destroyed by a wandering warrior named Atar to rescue his beloved marei'cha/surei'cha Ram from the grips of the servants of the Master of Entropy. "And if what the Thoughtmistress-prime just said about what Master Ataru has gone through is true..." She shook her head before she gave the immortal Prussian a helpless shrug. "We were trapped, Thoughtmaster-prime. Determined to allow others to go their own way, let lacking experience to see when we could interfere and when we could not."

The Undying Lord nodded. "It is good you learned that lesson."

" _Guten Morgen, Opa_."

That made Taserich twitch as Anra gasped on hearing that woman's voice, then they turned left to see the woman now leaning against the aft bulkhead of the bridge next to the door leading to the shipmaster's quarters. " _ **HEY!**_ " Cassandra shrieked as her sensors instantly locked in on the fact that someone had teleported into HER hull without so much as a by-your-leave.

"Shut it or you're scrap metal, you oversized scow!" the current host of the Keystone Power Jewel snapped in her best drill sergeant's voice before she drew out a cigar from the inside pocket of her flight jacket, then moved to light it.

That made the Eliminator's controlling sentience fall instantly silent; as powerful as she was, she was nothing in comparison to a woman who was the mistress of a device that made a _haijo-ju_ look like a child's toy. "Dean, must you...?" Taserich moaned.

Dean Raeburn stared at him — her calling him "grandpa" had always been something of a combined joke and insult between them since they had first met shortly after World War Two began — then she reached into her jacket to pull out another one. "One of your favourites, Joe," she said before gazing in amusement at the wide-eyed former baroness. "You want one, kid?"

Anra blinked before she shrugged. "Never tried one before."

She came over to take the offered cigar as Taserich shook her head...

* * *

 _ **Deep inside the Eliminator's upper superstructure...**_

Tapping a control to cut out her link to the ship's security programs, Daishi'cha #22874 could only grin in delight as she sat back in her chair. Despite the fact that the Eliminator could pilot herself, there were accommodations in the long structure over a kilometre high and three kilometres long that could take in thousands of people; the maniacs who had designed the Type 61s millennia ago had put in a tonne of redundancy in the hulls to ensure that if something went wrong, the Eliminator couldn't be destroyed. Sighing, the supply officer rose as she moved to slip off her brown jumpsuit with the red pants and gold trim, boots and windrider insignia. Glad that she had been able to get her hands on one of the prototype post-Clone War Rights _haijo-ju_ — which didn't have even a tithe of the abilities of the pre-war models — from the girls of the Te'a Studies Group after everyone had been forced to become gynoids, the Terran-born supply officer could only smirk in anticipation as she reached into her locker to draw out fashionable Terran-Western clothing: A pair of hip-hugging jeans, a button blouse and a knit cardigan sweater that was made of light fabric which wouldn't cause her to sweat in the summer heat on Earth.

Stopping, the woman now seeing herself as "Yamaguchi Kinshō" could only shudder as her memory flashed back to the wonderful day she had first met her namesake's son shortly after the Elder Mother had brought that sweet boy to Sagussa over a decade before. How he had instantly gravitated to her willingness to be kind to him when he wanted to do things while he stayed with the Daishi'cha. While people such as Aruka Noa, her younger sister Honii and the crew of both Pathfinder Troop Six and the special missions warpsloop _Hasei'cha_ had been the closest to Moroboshi Ataru during that time — it had been the Elder Mother of the Fifth Republic who had gone to Earth aboard the _Hasei'cha_ to find Ataru in Tomobiki over a year after she had first met the boy in Sendai in the wake of that silly incident concerning Redet Lum — the supply officer had pretty much become his surrogate mother in the month or so he had lived in the Chamber of Eternity.

Having him taken away...

Shuddering, Kinshō then relaxed as she allowed her current body's excellent housekeeping wetware to calm her down, then she moved to dress in the clothes she had selected; like Avalonians, Sagussans didn't care for foundation garments unless one was going through her monthly cycle. Once she was dressed in a way that wouldn't make anyone in that pit of Entropy her beloved spirit-child lived in now look twice at her, the supply officer reached out. The slender wand-like device — it had no name — flew into her hand from its place at the work desk set off to one corner of the room, then she concentrated.

In a flash of energy, she teleported off the Eliminator...

* * *

 _ **On the bridge...**_

Taserich blinked on sensing that surge of energy from below before he smiled.

 _This should be interesting_ , he mused to himself...

* * *

 _ **Gestation Tower #98 aboard the Avalon bioroid factory, that moment (local time: Three hours after midnight)...**_

"No one's seemed to have come in, Shigeki."

Fujino Shigeki sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Well, that's good," the fisherman's son from Ziegler's Cove mused as his slender fingers danced over the main controls to allow a full diagnostic of the gestation systems to be carried out. Given the considerable amount of disuse in this place since the Shiroiwa girls pretty much took over the whole tower in February, it was vital to do such, especially during the times that Inada Mizuho had to use the tanks to create replacement bodies for people she had to rescue for one idiot reason or another. "Since Satoko-san and her friends don't have many more bodies save for the ones they can use to bring Shōgo-kun's friends from Kōbe back, we have to start with the Ritsurin girls here."

Hearing that, his cousin-in-law Kuninobu Yoshitoki nodded. The abandoned former resident of the Charity House in Shiroiwa — he had been born out of an illicit affair and neither of his parents wanted to have anything to do with him — was now warmly holding his wife by intergalactic law, Takeshi Mai, in his lap, the half-Avalonian daughter of a village elder rubbing her cheek playfully against that of her bond-mate's. As Tsukioka Shō beamed at the sight of the first of the Shiroiwa boys to experience the wonderful joys of marei'cha being intimate with his lover, the illegitimate son of a senior sergeant in the Non-Aggressive Defence Army could only smirk. "Yeah, we might as well get going on that. We got the room thanks to Ataru..."

All four then gasped as a flash of light nearly blinded them from nearby!

"Oops! I'm sorry!"

Four Lawgivers instantly snapped up and locked on target...

...before people gaped on seeing the woman with the shaggy brown hair in a loose ponytail framing a slender face pierced by brown eyes burning with a tidal wave's worth of love and passion now standing there, she holding a model of haijo-ju in her hand that none of the teenagers in the room recognized. "Who are you?!" Yoshitoki demanded.

A giggle escaped the woman who looked very much like a teenage version of Moroboshi Ataru's own mother, who was still in hospital. "Ah, I'm sorry," she apologized in accented Japanese before she gazed intently at them for a moment, then she smiled as information instantly poured into her mind from the device in her hand. "Oh, you're the brave boy who brought Moerei'cha's marei'cha and their friends here!" she then said as she walked over to warmly embrace Shigeki, making him gape as his mind nearly crashed from that statement before his own empathy was quick to pick up the trapped soul inside the shell of what was clearly a gynoid of some sort. "I'm so glad you did that for him," she said as she kissed his forehead.

Shō, Yoshitoki and Mai blinked as their minds ran over what was just said. _Moerei'cha_ was the Sagussan word for one's son. And while this girl did look like that abusive idiot that Ataru had been forced to call his mother...

"You're one of the MAIDENS?!" Shigeki then exclaimed.

As Mai screamed on hearing Shigeki say that, the newcomer sighed. "Hai! Yamaguchi Kinshō, Daishi'cha #22864...!"

" _ **DON'T YOU DARE!**_ "

" _ **MAI!**_ " Yoshitoki screamed as Mai spun her weapon over to bear on the other woman.

"Now! Now!" Shō calmly called out as the hybrid village elder's daughter glared death at the reborn native of Japan. "There's no need for violence! It appears Kinshō-chan here was on the side of the angels when they voted on what to do with the factory, but was persuaded by her sisters to leave things be, Mai-chan! Besides, given that she isn't in her right mind now...!"

"Y-yeah! I can tell!" Shigeki sputtered as he tried not to blush at the fact that he had actually touched one of the _**Maidens of the Eternal Voyager**_ , beings who were as revered on Phentax Two as they were elsewhere in the galaxy.

Kinshō giggled in childlike anticipation as she skipped over to stand before one of the gestation tanks, nodding in delight on seeing that there was an incomplete bioroid within. With a thought, she made her weapon send energy into it that began the templation process. As Mai squawked in outrage on seeing that, the other woman gave her hosts an apologetic look. "Forgive me! We've been malfunctioning since something decided to break our empathic bonds with Moerei'cha after the Ashi'cha took him back to Earth! I wanted to go find him, but some rude creature from another dimension came along and tried to kill me!" She sighed as the others gaped at her. "Much that I don't mind being a sex gynoid now, I'd rather be back in a proper organic body! I hope you don't mind, Mai-chan! I can understand why you're so mad at us for leaving your mother and her sisters on Phentax Twelve, but so many of the girls on Sagussa just couldn't get past seeing you as mei'aidoei in the end...!"

The teenager with the green-tinted black hair and the dark blue eyes squawked on hearing THAT from the newcomer, then she shuddered. "If your friends think we're going to just let you march in here and use OUR factory like that...!"

"Oh, they can stay as gynoids for all I care!" Kinshō stated, which made the others blink in surprise at that act of dismissal. "Until that rude thing arrived to kill us all, I kept screaming at people to do as Iiii'eo always suggested, get to Earth, find Moerei'cha and learn what happened to him!" She then hummed before smiling in delight as the bioroid she had selected for her replacement body began to fully morph into its final form. As she noted through her link to her weapon that the DNA was settling down perfectly and tre'cha could occur within minutes, Kinshō then shrugged. "Much that I do see Ataru as my son spiritually, I am emotionally his age now. I wonder if he'll take me to his bed when I decide to perform my primary function."

The teenagers there blinked. "What's your primary function, Kinshō-chan?" Yoshitoki asked.

"Oh, it's in the name used for people like myself, Yoshitoki-kun. 'Great birth mother'. The de'ne who thought up the idea in the first place when everything was disintegrating on Sagussa ten millennia ago wanted us to be living baby factories so we could bring new life on the planet. It was stupid to do it the way it was done even if I'm grateful for my life. I don't remember my first life; according to Henry, I was killed in a fire that swept through Kyōto due to some idiot playing around with things he shouldn't have." She shrugged. "Oh, well. What will come will come. I'm glad that Thoughtmaster-prime Taserich came by and used a genesis bomb on Sagussa right now." As Mai croaked in horror, Kinshō smirked. "It got rid of that creature and did more to clean up the mess there than anything our scientists could have conceived of. With Earth's overpopulation issues and all of you people here now, we could turn Mars and Venus into proper Class M worlds and start shifting people there."

The teenagers there all blinked. «She's nuts!» Yoshitoki breathed out.

«Gee! We didn't notice that!» Shigeki mused, a sweat drop in his hair.

«Allow her the chance to have fun, my friends.»

«You sure, Mizuho-chan?» Shō wondered, a touch of wariness in his mental "voice".

«Aye!» Mizuho called back. «Given her incredible resemblance to Beloved's fool dam, she presents us with another way that we can make the daēva threatening us in Tomobiki realize they're not as much in control over things than they would think!»

«Send her down here after she's done,» Noda Satomi called up from Tomobiki. «I'm going to handle that part personally!»

«Oh, DO take pictures, Satomi-chan!» Shō coldly mused.

«Naturally...!»

The four teenagers there all snickered, making the Terran-turned-Sagussan supply officer gaze in confusion at them...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Toranoseishin Finances Tower, an hour later...**_

"So how did things go with Rachel-san, Noriko?" Satomi asked.

"They're okay," Nakagawa Noriko called back from Katsushika. To ensure the people who weren't Avalonians could listen in, the Elder Mother of the Shiroiwa girls used her dataPADD to signal back to her friends in lieu of telepathically communicating the news. "They're slowly accepting what's happened to them and what Mishneh-hakase wanted Mizuho-chan to do for them once she got the chance to get them to safety, but they're still pretty hesitant on the idea of becoming Avalonians even after seeing what happened to Dally-chan, Della-chan and Livia-chan. Good thing Rio-chan was able to bring Spike-sensei and his wife here so Rachel-san's friends could learn what really happened in Sunnydale. Rio-chan hasn't spotted any idiot hit-wizard or the likes in the area, so I don't think people back in America have clued into what's going on now."

"They'll be coming, Nori," Shimizu Hirono warned as people relaxed inside Yumoa Reigi's office at the apex of the tower that housed the local offices of the Inshin Group's largest subordinate company. "Fucking arrogant assholes like that have a very long shelf life! They'll be coming to get their asses shot off or their magic ripped away from them soon enough, I'll bet. Especially since this Taserich guy has cut off all support from that law firm to that bastard Golden."

Others in the room nodded. "We'll just deal with them as they come," Noriko noted before she took a breath. "So what's all this about this dopplegänger of Ataru's mother? I can't believe what Mizuho-chan's been saying about those girls."

"Crazy as it sounds, it's true, Noriko," Ataru said as he shook his head, an overwhelmed look on his face. "I don't remember any of it myself in real detail, but when I was on Sagussa, she cared for me as a sort of surrogate mother until Noa-chan brought me back to Earth. No doubt, some weird version of the shirei'cha bond might have formed between us even if I'm not her natural son. When Onē-san got fired into my mind and the bonds with them shattered, Kinshō tried to persuade everyone to send a search party to learn what happened to me. Shortly after that, this Scalphunter thing came..."

"And Kinshō-san wound up trapped in a sex gynoid body, spending years trying to recover from such a shattered bond," his new brother Kaeru breathed out, shaking his head in horrified sympathy. Like Ataru, his "social worker" adopted brother had no memories of that lost month on another world thousands of light-years away; all that had been effectively wrecked when Ataru's own soul had been sheared in half to allow the being that would eventually become Moroboshi Tariko to evolve as a separate consciousness in his mind. Fortunately for Ataru's own sense of mind, when Kaeru was created by Hensō's malfunctioning camera, he had not carried over soul-copies of his new "Aneki", much less his other adopted sisters. While he hadn't truly suffered when his life essence had been absorbed into the underlying magic of Tomobiki and trapped there by the influence of the Memory of Tomobiki out of some desperate desire to keep Ataru fully isolated from any potential outside help, he was still a little disorientated even if it felt just wonderful to be in living flesh-and-blood again. The emotional support of people like Manabe Satoko, not to mention the students from another dimension, also helped greatly.

"I wonder what happened to this missing girl," Satomi wondered.

Ataru nodded...

...before a pair of hands clapped over his eyes. "Guess who?!"

As people in the room gaped, he blinked, then spun around...

...before he gaped in shock on seeing the grinning woman now standing there, an amused Tsukioka Shō now standing behind her. As people took a moment to absorb the sight of this teenage version of Ataru's estranged mother now standing there, Kinshō blinked as her reawakened empathy and telepathy quickly did a scan of her spiritual "son's" mind. She then paled as the blood-soaked images of the Battle of Morningstar Plain, the Liberation and the fight against the Konton pirates played out before her mind, then she shuddered as shamed tears appeared in her eyes. "Oh, Lyna...why weren't we there for you...?"

With a pained scream, she bowled him over with a hug that could have crushed a boulder. As Ataru blinked in understandable confusion on meeting this woman who was both hauntingly familiar yet a total stranger to him, the others could only shake their heads as they tried to absorb all this. "And to believe there's a shit-pile more of them up there," Hirono muttered.

Both Sōma Mitsuko and Yahagi Yoshimi grimly nodded...

* * *

 _ **An hour later...**_

" _ **YOU WANT TO KILL HER?!**_ "

Kinshō shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "No, Reigi-san! That's making her a _**martyr**_!" the Terran-born supply officer stated as she placed her hand on the desk of the chief-of-staff of Toranoseishin Finances. "She'll die believing she was in the right all along! She doesn't deserve that, especially with what I just sensed from Ataru and all of you right now!" She then icily smiled. "Hai, Sagussan law and custom demand death for child abusers, but that'll be an escape for her!"

"So what have you got in mind, Kin?" Hirono asked.

"To take it all AWAY from her, Hirono," the reborn native of Kyōto stated as she gave Mitsuko's number two girl a grin that was both full of mirth and savagery. "I won't have anything to do with Ataru's father. He had a responsibility to hold her back when she started to behave like she did to Ataru after Kaeru was taken to Nagussa after he 'died', but he did NOTHING..."

"Wait! Aniki's ALIVE?!"

That was the newly-born bioroid who now called himself "Moroboshi Kaeru". "Hai, your namesake's alive," Kinshō stated. "When he had his accident, two natives of the planet Nagussa from the other side of the galaxy were on Earth taking a tour of the planet at the time. They saw what happened. Seeing how no one was moving to fight to keep Kaeru alive and were shouting blame at each other and Ataru for what happened, they took him from the hospital, then transported him to a Majujjō healer near the Galactic Core. Once he was fully healed, they adopted him as their son. At last report from one of the Rovers we could still communicate with a year ago, he's now in the Defence Force serving on a star cruiser with his surei'cha." As people gaped, the supply officer grinned. "They're not full-blown telepaths like we are, but they are very empathic. Naromo — that's Kaeru's girlfriend — fell in love with him as soon as he entered puberty. They're definitely committed to each other."

"Does that planet have some relation to Sagussa, Kinshō-chan?" Satomi asked. "The names really sound similar."

"According to the old legends that survived the Clone Rights War, during the times of our Second Republics, we were colonies of another race," Kinshō explained. "In the early years of Gisan'cha, there was a cold war between the Fourth Republics, but it never flared hot. As to how and why their Fourth Republic died and their new Fifth Republic began, I can't say." She sighed. "I know they're designer clone bioroids, pretty similar to Avalonians. No doubt, the people who started that noted the mistakes Thoughtmistress-prime Yura made when she launched the Grand Design, then improved the idea to make it work better."

"Would he ever want to come back to Earth?" Ataru wondered.

She shook her head. "He has no memories of Earth. He knows he's from here, but from what the Rovers have reported whenever they've been able to scan him, he's totally devoted to his mother, mashi'cha and Naromo." As people blinked on hearing that the original Moroboshi Kaeru had been adopted by a lesbian couple, the supply officer shrugged. "All we can really do is wish him the best. The Nagussans don't have any real issues outside the Goa'uld..."

"'Goa'uld'?" Reigi asked.

"A race of parasite snakes who love to take possession of people's bodies," Ataru said. "Kyech told me about them when we were on Okusei. They think themselves the supreme race in the galaxy. Back when we were still in the Stone Age, they came here and pretended to be 'gods' to people there. They've done this on other planets since way before the Seifukusu began to create their empire four thousand years ago." He chuckled. "They made use of stolen tech that some other race left behind on Earth when they came here, but they left it behind when Ojii-san chased them off the planet after people decided they didn't want to put up to fake 'gods' lording it over them all the time. When I was doing the Tag Race, an American air force team used one of those artifacts to take out their boss, Ra. Hiromi's been nagging Obama-daitōryō to get control over the Stargate — it's like the Central Warp Chamber on Triton — to make sure those creeps don't come back."

The young banker blinked, then he nodded. He hadn't really delved into the many insane worlds that his new clan matriarch had to confront in her position as head of the United Nations Earth Defence Force given that he was more intent on working to ensure that Ataru and his siblings could live their lives without any sort of interference, especially from Ataru's parents. "So what do you plan to do with your namesake, Kinshō-san?" he asked to move the conversation back on track.

"Simple. We can pretend that what Shinobu-chan did to her hurt her so much that a body-swap was necessary," Kinshō stated. "I copy her memories to make it more believable, then emerge a 'changed woman'. Maybe make it that 'she' lost her memories of her life after she got married to Muchi, then reverted back to the way she was back in high school!" As Ataru, Kaeru and Reigi all shrieked with laughter on hearing that proposal — Ataru's mother had been quite the school slut back in those days — the supply officer from Sagussa winked. "We find a place to stash that idiot and I live her life in her place. Since I won't remember Muchi at all, we can get the marriage legally dissolved. That will give those three sisters who want him the chance to make their move on him. And I can strive to be a 'responsible adult' for my 'sons' and 'daughters', not to mention all the wonderful people my 'sons' and 'daughters' are helping live free in this universe." She shrugged. "It's a totally crazy plan, but given how much the influence of all the entropic energy that's in this town has hurt people over the years, it could actually work. They're so desperate to see Ataru fully 'controlled', they'll accept any excuse that comes down the pike." She winked at her current host. "And for those who might guess it out, we have Mizuho, Satoko and her friends to help out."

"Can we ditch Baka Kā-san somewhere remote, Reigi?" Ataru wondered.

"I was thinking the red light districts in Bangkok," Reigi wryly proposed.

Morbid laughter filled the room. "Yeah, it's crazy enough that it might work," Hirono then noted as Mitsuko snickered. "'Oba-chan' here will be back in control over the house. The neighbours won't bitch and complain about the 'rowdy teens' living there. We can get our lives going again, help the other _Program_ players get their lives restarted again, help Tabi and her friends rebuild their lives, then go clean the clock out of that goose-stepper over in Kōtō to protect the sekirei."

Kinshō blinked. "'Sekirei'?"

"On Noukiios, they're called 'tengp'yek'," Ataru provided.

That made her gape. "THEM?!" she gasped before she blinked. "Oh, that's right! The Rovers noted the several nest ships that landed on Earth just before the time I was made a Daishi'cha! I thought they all interbred with local people here."

"One ship was sunk in the Pacific until some years ago, when it was found by two Tōdai science students," Reigi provided. "They formed a pharmaceutical company called 'Mid-Bio Informatics' over in Kōtō to help adopt the technology of the ship and let it be absorbed into the local economy to help our technology advance. The Heavenly Sovereign asked them to help the sekirei better integrate into society and find their chosen life-mates. Save for this crazy idea the current chairman of the company has about forcing them to fight for the right to stay with their mates — which a lot of people, Negako-sama included, intend to stop — it's been going quite good. One of the sekirei is bonded to one of the Shiroiwa girls, Kitano Yukiko..."

A knock echoed from the door. "Sumimasen!" a voice called out.

"Speaking of which...!" Reigi noted. "Come in, Yukiko-chan!"

The door opened to allow the vicar's daughter to step inside. Accompanying her now was her new bond-mate. Much to Ataru's personal delight, Natsu Ayame wasn't in her normal sleeveless turtleneck sports bra-like top, bicep-length finger-less gloves and ankle length split skirt, but a simple turtleneck shirt, vest sweater and form-fitting "martial arts" jeans that would allow her to do high kicks in case she was challenged in a fight without splitting apart in the crotch; he believed that the sekirei's combat uniforms were designed primarily to make them look like sex objects. Naturally, the lovers were holding hands. "Sorry we were delayed," Yukiko then said as she moved to sit down at a nearby couch, Natsu moving to relax beside her. "The seamstress at Esmeralda-sensei's shoppe had to make sure Ayame-vayae's jeans fit her properly."

"This is one of the sekirei?"

The throwing knife fighter blinked, then she turned...

...before her eyes went wide as her mind was suddenly assaulted by an empathic aura with the power of a tidal wave that nearly drowned out her powerful bond to the vicar's daughter who had freed her from a man who hadn't really done much for her in the brief time they had been together. As she felt Yukiko's own mind reach into her to steady her bond, Natsu gaped in shock at the teenage version of Moroboshi Ataru's mother before she shook her head. "You're an ashikabi...!"

Kinshō blinked. "'Flower bud'?"

"She means this, Kinshō-chan," Yukiko stated...

...then Natsu gasped in orgasmic delight as she felt her tama energize, making her wings grow out in a beautiful halo of power behind her body. Seeing that, the Terran-turned-Sagussan supply officer gaped as she silently wished for one of the biologists among the Daishi'cha to have accompanied her down to Earth. She could at least sense how strong the bond was between this sekirei and her spiritual son's new friend from another dimension, which made her very happy for them both. "So what exactly is an ashikabi?" she asked again. "How can I possibly be one? I haven't lived on this planet in centuries..."

"Your mother was a sekirei..."

That was Natsu, who was staring in awe at this woman while her mind rolled over the possibilities of Yamaguchi Kinshō getting involved in the Sekirei Plan while her wings faded. With only slightly diluted blood from a true feather, she had it within her to become the most powerful ashikabi alive today. Unwinged feathers would be immediately drawn to her like a lodestone would draw metal fragments, which would make her the effective equal of people like Higa Izumi, Sanada Nishi or Mikogami Hayato. Given that she was also an Avalonian — the mineral water-like scent around her was quite obvious to Natsu even if almost everyone else in the room had the same type of scent — whoever would become her first sekirei would be a player in the Plan that could easily impress any of the single numbers while out in the field, maybe even Asama Miya herself.

"Kinshō-chan's not an Avalonian, Ayame-vayae," Yukiko advised. "She's one of Ataru's friends from Sagussa, a Daishi'cha."

That made the throwing knife fighter blink before she gaped. "You're one of the _**Maidens of the Eternal Voyager**_?!"

"You know of us?" Kinshō asked, an amused smile on her face.

That made Natsu chuckle. "H-hai! That was programmed in the general database of information we all learned from after we were born!" She then sighed. "Much that we don't know our planet of origin, we do know about the Grand Design!" She then blinked. "Why did you people abandon your cousins on Phentax Twelve, Kinshō-sama?! After what the Niphentaxians did...!"

"That's a really long and complicated story, Ayame-chan," the supply officer said as she moved to sit on Reigi's desk. "I'll explain it to everyone as soon as we get back together at the house. But I need to do a little disposing first."

That made Natsu blink, then she grinned as she guessed what was being planned. Like all the sekirei, she saw Moroboshi Negako both as a friend and an ally given the ninjutsu grandmaster's support for the sekirei being allowed to live their lives free. Because of that, she was aware of the strained relations between the members of the Moroboshi family in Tomobiki, especially in the wake of Ataru, Tariko and Hiromi getting multiple lovers. The knife fighter knew that many unwinged feathers would gladly have offered themselves to any of Negako's adopted siblings if they had ashikabi blood in them...though now with the revelation that a non-ashikabi Avalonian COULD wing a sekirei starting to get out, the possibilities now...!

"We won't let your sisters die, Ayame-chan."

That was Ataru. Seeing the determined looks on the faces of all the people there, then tensing as her tama flared again on feeling Yukiko's love and support for her, Natsu smiled. "Um...would you mind if you met a friend of mine, Kinshō-sama?"

Kinshō blinked as Yukiko snickered on sensing what her bond-mate now had in mind...

* * *

 _ **Thirty minutes later...**_

"So you'll stay in Katsushika, Rachel-san?"

"For the time being," Rachel Thornbridge called back as she gazed through the visual electronic link the wonderful talking crystal slab in her hand that had been brought to the meeting between the Anderson County Amazons and the leaders of the _Program_ players now on Earth at this time. "Much that I do appreciate what you and the others want to do for all of us, poor Kana is still frightened out of her mind after she was chased in here by that carpetbagger's son and his friends, then hid herself here until Sally found her and we set up camp here. When she's ready to move, we'll move then."

"Would you mind if we get Sally-san crossed over?" Ataru then offered. "If she's in a fully organic body, Kana-chan can wing herself to her, then get the confidence necessary to leave her current place." His eyes then narrowed. "And doing that will call off the hounds wanting to get their hands on the 'Green Girl'. Getting you and the others crossed over..."

The plantation owner's daughter from Anderson smiled as she raised her hand. "Please, Mister Ataru! Not yet! We...!" She shook her head. "I know some might see it as cowardly, but a transformation like THAT would be hard to take."

"They need a little more time, Ataru," a man's voice cut in, it flooded with a mixture of London Cockney and more refined BBC English. "They really do appreciate what you and yours have done for them, but they're still having the devil's own time trying to fully adjust to this age. If I ever got my hands on Golden, I'd be tearing the sod apart for putting them through this shite...!"

"Mister Pratt! Don't cuss!" Della Burns screamed at him from somewhere nearby.

An awk escaped William Pratt, which made Ataru smirk. "Appreciated, Bill. You as well, Dru-chan. How's the baby?"

" _ **Babies**_ , Ataru-kun," Drusilla Keeble-Pratt called back from off screen while Rachel looked to her left. "I'm having twins."

"When Negako's done with that lot up in space, would she mind if she comes down to look over Dru, Ataru?" Spike then asked. "I'd trust the Earth Angel way more than I'd trust anyone else right now." Here, the former poet turned street mercenary and ally to the Slayers sighed. "Everyone knows how neutral she is after she went and helped Master Garth deal with those Coalition for Purity fools who tried to chase down those poor half-breeds that fled to the island he lives on."

«Please tell William and Drusilla that I will be down in an hour, Ataru,» the voice of a certain ninjutsu grandmaster then echoed in her last host's mind. «I am almost done with the girls aboard the Eliminator now.»

«No problem, Onē-san,» Ataru thought back. «Do they know about Kinshō?»

«Almost all haven't noticed her departure. Anra knows. I would suggest that you make it clear that she will serve as Prime Councillor at this time. It will give the Daishi'cha a sense of structure and order as they move to recover themselves.»

«Mizuho?»

«I will pass it on to Lady Anra, Beloved,» Mizuho thought back.

He nodded. "Onē-san will be down in an hour, Bill."

"Appreciated, Ataru."

"Belle and the others will be back in Tomobiki by nightfall," Rachel added.

"We'll be expecting them, Rachel-san."

The link was then cut before Ataru sat back in his chair, then he blinked as he felt a pair of comforting hands squeeze his shoulders in support, his heart swelling at his lover's touch. "It just doesn't want to stop, Satomi," he said as he looked into the face of his bond-mate. "Much that I do wish it to be normal for a while, it just doesn't want to stop..."

"I'll make sure you don't become an adrenaline junkie," the bookstore owner's daughter said as she leaned down to kiss him...

...then both blinked as a knock echoed at the door. "Come!" Ataru called out.

The door then opened to reveal a smiling Natsu. "Sumimasen!"

"Hey, Ayame-chan! Did your friend come?" Ataru asked.

"Hai!"

With that, the knife fighter dramatically waved her companion in. Seeing the amber-eyed woman with the caramel hair possessing fox ear-like bangs sticking from her temples and cropped at the neck, Ataru grinned. "Hey, Hideko-chan!"

"Hey, Ataru-kun! Satomi-san!" Kaie Hideko called back. One of many unwinged girls who had been propositioned by Higa Izumi in recent months, the metal whip fighter had been also approached by Higa's aide Kakizaki Kenji to ally with the East Ashikabi as the Sekirei Plan plunged towards open warfare once the vast majority of the feathers were winged. Kaie had heard through the grapevine that Higa was no decent ashikabi even if he had quite the flock following him; according to what Moroboshi Negako had passed on through Karasuba Romi to secretly warn the other sekirei, the current chairman of Hiyamakai Industries in Katsushika saw the alien metahumans only as mere tools he could use to press his corporate war against Mid-Bio Informatics. And while Kaie had reacted to both Higa and Kakizaki, she hadn't been winged by either man, which made her quite relieved even if she knew that they were determined to get her to serve Hiyamakai...or eliminate her.

Since Tomobiki was seen as outside the "game zone"...!

"So what's this about this 'Super Ashikabi' you told me about, Ayame?" Kaie then asked after she greeted Ataru's bond-mate with a hug and kiss on the cheek, she then giving the throwing knife fighter she had trained alongside a look.

Natsu smirked...

...as the door to Ataru's private quarters opened. "Done!"

Kaie blinked...

...then she gasped as her whole body suddenly heated up thanks to the aura of pure power billowing from the woman who just walked in. "What happened, Kinshō?" Ataru asked as he tried not to grin at the sekirei's instant reaction to the Terran-turned-Sagussan supply officer's arrival. "Did anyone over at Nishitōkyō General raise a stink over Baka Kā-san?"

"Are you kidding me, Ataru?!" Kinshō asked as she gave the shuddering woman standing next to Yukiko's bond-mate a brief glance before she crossed her arms. "They're _**relieved**_ to be rid of her! She's been moaning about how much she wished she never had you, that the world was coming to an end, that Shinobu-san was being a mean girl in disobeying her elders' wishes, that Hensō would come back and 'set things straight'..." She shook her head. "Just like the others warned me! My 'spirit-sister'..." — here, the supply officer's voice dripped with a waterfall of scorn — "...still mistakes you would-be surei'cha with her template! How much does it have to take to make people in this town finally _**listen**_ for a change, for Lyna's sake?!"

"You're one of the _**Maidens**_...?!"

That was a wide-eyed Kaie, who was gaping in awe at the newcomer even if she found it harder and harder to fight the urge to leap over and wing herself on this incredible person. "She's a chick, Hideko," Natsu stated, using the euphemism for a child born of one of the feathers with her/his ashikabi. "Satoko-san and the other _haijo-ju_ mistresses in town confirmed it. Even if she died and was reborn thanks to the Eternal Voyager, the power that makes her an ashikabi is still inside her."

The whip fighter took that in, then she stared in disbelief at her friend and former training partner. "You fought THIS off?!"

Natsu awked. "I was winged already, Hideko! I won't two-time Yukiko-vayae!"

Kaie looked at her, then smirked, winking. "Just checking!"

The other sekirei huffed. "Bitch!"

"Oh, you are quite sexy, Iroko-chan...!"

That made the whip fighter croak, her cheeks flaming at that cute nickname that was just given to her, before she felt a billow of pure sexual lust wash over her from the reborn woman standing now in the room. "Kinshō-sama...!"

Glancing at his mother's namesake, Ataru was quick to see a slight flush in the supply officer's cheeks, which was the initial visible sign that the drive to seek out one's marei'cha had just woken inside the supply officer's soul. "It's true love, Hideko-chan," he then gently said, which made the sekirei gasp on hearing that observation.

That made the whip fighter blink before she smiled. "I'm Kaie Hideko, Sekirei #62 of the Kamikura-jima Nest Ship, Kinshō-sama," she said as she bowed formally while sensing the others of Sagussan blood in the room were now mentally reaching out to help keep her mind on an even keel despite her body's hot reaction to the presence of the reborn sekirei's daughter from Kyōto now standing close to her. "I offer myself to you as your marei'cha and ask that you become my ashikabi."

Kinshō smiled in turn; she had sensed her spiritual son and his bond-mate helping support this poor woman in such a trying moment. "I'm Yamaguchi Kinshō, Daishi'cha #22864 of the Grand Design of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa, acting Chief of Supply in the Ministry of Logistics, Thoughtmistress Hideko." As Kaie gaped on being addressed with the Sagussan equivalent of "sensei", the supply officer said as she held out her hands. "It seems that Anghya, Lyna and the Nest Elders who sent you to this world clearly have blessed what is happening to us now, Hideko-vayae. Let it be done."

Kaie grinned as she walked into the other woman's arms, their lips colliding.

A massive aura of light then burst from the windows of the Toranoseishin Tower...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character notes:

First, a big thanks to Sonic0704 for reminding me that in the _Yatsura_ manga story "Love and Violence" (manga episode #78), there was actually a film replica version of Moroboshi Ataru also created; you'll see this on the last page of the story. Given that the Genesis Wand of Parah is now in play, having him literally reborn as a man is possible. The name **Moroboshi Kaeru** is inspired, as has been noted before, from Ataru's twin brother, who was first introduced in the _TSY_ story "My Darlings United". It was in that story that Kaeru's lover, **Naromo** , was also introduced; also mentioned in that story were the **Majujjō**.

 **Redet Paishu** first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Surprise, Darling! You're A Father". Her father _Redet Belok_ first appeared in the first crossover story between _TSY_ and _Sailor Moon_ I wrote, "Lonely They Who Guard..."

The Sagussan dopplegänger of **Sakurambō Sakura** (Daishi'cha #7728), **Miyake Shinobu** (Daishi'cha #2530) and **Fujinami Ryūnosuke** (Daishi'cha #1123) all appeared in the _TSY_ story "Spirit-War Tomobiki". Ryūnosuke's would-be bond mate, the dopplegänger of **Shiowatari Nagisa** (Daishi'cha #13303) was mentioned in the writer's notes of "What Price For Love?" Also mentioned in that story was the dopplegänger of Ataru's mother, **Yamaguchi Kinshō** (Daishi'cha #22874). In the universe of _TSY_ , Sakura was Prime Councillor (the head of government). Shinobu was Chief of Administration (the senior civil servant). Ryūnosuke was Engineer Commander (chief of the planet's large engineer corps). Nagisa was Chief of Fleet Engineering (chief of the engineer group to the defence forces). And Kinshō was Chief of Supply (chief of Sagussa's quartermaster corps). Back when I wrote _TSY_ , I made use of the "-chan" honorific when I needed to tell the dopplegänger apart from her namesake.

 **Anra** (Daishi'cha #22862A) was first introduced in the _TSY_ side story "The Ones Left Behind". In that story, I gave her the name "Anri", based on the 33-S sexaroid of the same name (in my stories, **Senrei Anri** ) from _Bubblegum Crisis_. Also introduced in that story was **Hisrana** (Daishi'cha #22863A), who is modelled after **Zhāng Reika** (AKA Vision) from _BGC_.

The **Te'a Studies Group** , whose members were named after characters from _El Hazard_ , were background characters in the times the Daishi'cha had parts to play in _TSY_. They shone in the side stories "Truth and Consequences" and "Lufy's Quest".

 **Aruka Honii** (Daishi'cha #19283) first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Spirit-War Tomobiki". She is modelled and named after the red-haired basic warrior form of **Kisaragi Honey** from _Cutey Honey_.

2) _**Sister Princess: Onii-chan Daisuki**_ is one of my favourite dating simulation games. Created in 1999 by the remarkable duo of Tenhiro Naoto and Kimino Sakurako, it is a story where the player character encounters twelve girls who claim him as their big brother; this is a decidedly different approach to the whole dating simulation concept. I used characters like Rinrin (in my stories, I give her the full name **Hatoyama Rinrin** ) in my stories in the past such as _Lonely Souls_. Of course, "Aniki" (a slang way of addressing one's elder brother) is Rinrin's own way of addressing the player character in _Sister Princess_.

3) Military unit notes:

The **Canadian Forces Intelligence Group** ( **CF INT GP** ) was the formation in charge of all intelligence support assets in the military up to 2013. Said formation was under the direct control of the **Vice Chief of the Defence Staff** ( **VCDS** ), the second-in-command of the whole Canadian Forces. In 2013, said group was changed into an independent command, the **Canadian Forces Intelligence Command** ( **CFINTCOM** ), taking operational and administrative control of all Army reserve intelligence companies as well as the CF INT GP. In the universe of this story, the Avalonians joining the Canadian military expanded on that, creating environment specific formations that would be subordinate to CF INT GP. **5 Intelligence Battalion** ( **5 INT BN** ) would be the Army's primary intelligence support unit; it would combine with field division-level intelligence companies and support forces to form **29 Canadian Intelligence Brigade** ( **29 CDN INT BDE** ). One of the Air Force units in the expanded CF INT GP is **l'Escadron du Renseignement no. 16 "Ville de Hull"** (literally "No. 16 'City of Hull' Intelligence Squadron") ( **ER 16** ). Said squadron would support, as noted above, the headquarters of **3 Canadian Air Division** ( **3 CDN AIR DIV** ), the Air Force's primary support formation to the Navy; this is the reason l'Escadron No. 16 is given an American Navy-style squadron short-form, with type abbreviation before number. As noted above, all Air Force intelligence units would fall under the command of **15 Canadian Air Group (Intelligence)** ( **15 CAG** ). The Navy's side of CF INT GP (and later CFINTCOM) would be known as the **Naval Intelligence Support Group** ( **NAVINTSUPGP** ); one of its sub-units would be **Naval Supplementary Communications Unit Conestoga** ( **NSCU Conestoga** ) in Cambridge west of Toronto, a tender unit to the recently commissioned **Her Majesty's Canadian Ship** _ **Prestonian**_ in nearby Kitchener. Administrative headquarters for 29 Intelligence Brigade, 15 Air Group and the Naval Intelligence Support Group would all be co-located with the headquarters of CF INT GP in Ottawa. As noted in _A Nice Quiet Place_ , NCSU Conestoga's namesake predecessor unit was the basic training group for the **Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service** ( **WRCNS** ), where Heather Thompkins learned how to be a professional military sailor.

A **Joint Base** ( **JB** ) is the recently-introduced American term for a facility that would have operational units from more than one service of the armed forces of the United States based there. This has been done recently to help consolidate neighbouring bases into a single command structure to help reduce funding and streamline support. Bases that have been brought together in this manner include such storied places as **Joint Base Andrews** ( **JB Andrews** ) near Washington DC, which formed from the union of Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Facility Washington in 2009; **Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst** ( **JB MDL** ) in central New Jersey, which united McGuire Air Force Base, the Army's Fort Dix and the Navy's Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (where the airship _Hindenburg_ crashed in 1937) the same year that JB Andrews was formed; and **Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam** ( **JB PHH** ) on O'ahu in Hawai'i, which united Hickam Air Force Base and Naval Station Pearl Harbour in 2010. While joint bases are technically cross-service locations, they are administratively assigned to one single service for command and control purposes; JB Andrews and JB MDL both fall under the Air Force while JB PHH is under the Navy's control. In the universe of this story, **Joint Starbase Arlington** ( **JSB Arlington** ) falls under the same concept.

4) _Stargate_ character notes: Major General **Wayne West** was the commandant of **Project: Giza** (the Air Force research initiative assigned to study the Stargate and put it to operational use; it was also known as the "Stargate Project") in the original movie. His given name is my invention, though it is based on his initials "W.O. West". In _Stargate_ continuity, this story falls before the premier episode of _Stargate SG-1_ , "Children of the Gods".

5) Translation list: **Generalmajor** — Major General; **Bundesministerium für Magische Angelegenheiten** — Federal Ministry of Magical Affairs; **Bundesbefehlshaberstelle** — Literally "Federal Command Point" but could also be translated as "Federal Command Station"; **Bundeswaschmaschine** — Literally "federal washing machine"; **Daite'cha** — Literally "first above all", this would be normally translated as "first citizen"; **Freiin** — The German noble title for a baron's daughter, which could be translated "baroness"; **Guten Morgen** — Good Morning; **De'ne** — Literally "no intelligence", the Sagussan equivalent of the Japanese "baka"; **Shirei'cha** — The term for the empathic bond that forms between a mother and a child from before birth to when the Awakening comes around age twelve; **Gisan'cha** — Literally "Unbounded Technology", the epoch name for the ten millennium period on Sagussa before the Clone Rights War; **Mashi'cha** — Mother's bond-mate; **Iroko** — Literally "fox child".

6) Quick Sagussan pronunciation note: If a vowel is followed by "-gh" (which is a separate character in the Sagussan alphabet), it serves the same function as the English final silent "-e" often does in words, making the previous vowel sound long. Hence, the term " **Toghmoghbiki** " (literally "place of fools and madmen" in a very old dialect of the language) is pronounced **/to̞mo̞bi'kʲi/** , same as the Japanese pronunciation of the characters that go into the name of Ataru's current place of residence. In Sagussan, "-gh" has no sound.

7) _Battle Royale_ character note: **Kuninobu Yoshitoki** 's parents were never named. His being the son of a soldier from the **Non-Aggressive Defence Army** ( **NADA** ), the internal security force of the Republic of Greater East Asia, is my creation.

8) _Buffy_ character notes: **William "Spike" Pratt** first appeared in the third episode of the second season of Buffy, "School Hard". His wife **Drusilla Keeble-Pratt** (the maiden family name is my invention) first appeared in that same episode.

9) _Sekirei_ character note: **Kaie Hideko** (Sekirei #62) first appeared in the manga story "Reunion of the Old Disciplinary Squad" (manga chapter #128). She was one of Higa Izumi's sekirei who attacked Izumo-sō in that chapter.


	6. A Beacon of Nightmares

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **At the orbit of Mars, two hours before supper (T**_ _ **ōkyō time)...**_

"I still can't believe it."

Hearing that hissed comment from the chancellor of the Outmarches of the Imperial Dominion of Noukiios, the eleventh son of the First Mage of the Seifukusu Dominion gave her a sympathetic look. "Space has always been very unforgiving, Madame Chancellor," General Redet Trosan noted. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that even the Voyager could have fallen so easily, especially given the interdimensional nature of what exactly befell the Maidens before the Undying Lord got involved."

"Praise the Heavens for that small mercy at least," Seu-Ch'ek Yech'a-Mung Hechnich'-Nakkyek of Ait'uch Nehech stated as her personal battle barque approached the tan-and-black colossus looming in the near distance. She had already picked out the flagship of the United Nations Earth Defence Force flying close to the Eliminator's upper superstructure; the other ships of the Fourth Republic and the force that would have formed the core of the Fifth Republic's fleet had dispersed themselves into a defensive ring around the inner part of the solar system to make it clear to all that they would not care for any sort of interference from neighbouring powers when it came to this first contact between the Daishi'cha and the people of Earth...

To say anything of a "reunion" between the two groups who were the direct heiresses of the lost Fourth Republic of Sagussa.

The azure-skinned man with the muscular track runner's body nodded as he watched the barque's crack command team manoeuvre Kaep's ship to fall in off the starboard side of Her Majesty's Canadian Starship _Haida_ ; like all Seifukusu males, Trosan was extraordinarily tall, well over two metres by Terran terms. He had a rough idea of the general capabilities of that remarkable starship, built by two kidnap victims of the idiot Ipraedies who had the luck of the Fates to stumble upon an abandoned Fourth Republic fleet in the Den'sha system near Spotak over a year ago. No Seifukusu ship-of-the-line was compatible to a Haida-class battleship/carrier, though House flagships could easily give such a vessel a good fight.

And while there were the legion of arrogant fools his father always had to deal with on Dominos who saw Terrans as yet just another "lesser" species to either subjugate as a "client" race or outright conquer and enslave, people such as Trosan and his father Belok remembered the ancient star culture that controlled this part of space in the three millennia after the withdrawal of the Goa'uld from the system. Their destruction at the hands of the House With No Name was an eternal black stain on the honour of all the Imperial Houses; that war had caused the Seifukusu Dominion to plunge into something that shouldn't have happened and had caused irreparable harm to sentients across the local cluster, all the way to Vos itself! While he was personally proud of his races' many accomplishments, Trosan was also ashamed at the many crimes that his ancestors had done to other species, especially with what happened to the Neptunians that forced them to decamp to Triton.

And while he was also ashamed of what happened to the Urusians...

"The secret of what Master Tsukihana and Mistress Ayami created for Earth will not stay secret forever, Kaep'," the silver-haired thirty-something senior general in the Fleet of the Magate Round then quietly advised as the barque came to a stop beside _Haida_ , the raised White Ensign of the Dominion of Canada at the mainmast dipping immediately in salute to the presence of a four star admiral and a head-of-government aboard the Noukiite ship now pulling alongside it.

"Most likely, Trosan. But I think that our Terran and Avalonian friends are more than prepared to deal with it now," Kaep' said as she waved her guest with her to a nearby materializer room so they could beam aboard _Haida_. One of the first things traded to the Imperial Dominion of Noukiios by the Provisional Republic of New Avalon in the wake of the Liberation was the matter-energy transporter technology that easily outperformed all local teleportation systems and even the Ancient-designed ring transporters used by the Goa'uld; considering that, it amazed Kaep' even to this very day that the Niphentaxians never adopted the concept as samples of that technology could be found aboard the bioroid factory. "The Steel Angels, the tengp'yek living in Japan, the War Hawks, the Undying Lord himself, those magicals who would gladly fight for all..."

He chuckled as the two walked into the materializer room, taking their places on two of the pads. "Energize!" Kaep' called out.

"At once, My Chancellor!" the technician declared as he flipped controls.

The two were instantly whisked over a kilometre to their port, where...

* * *

 _ **Her Majesty's Canadian Starship**_ **Haida** _ **, that moment (Toronto time: Three hours after midnight)...**_

"Guard detail, Vice-Regal Salute, _**PRESENT...ARMS!**_ "

As the materializer room inside the Canadian starship appeared before the eyes of the Noukiite imperial chancellor and the Seifukusu fleet general, Kaep' smiled on seeing the silver-haired Terran submariner standing there, saluting them both. As the boatswains shrilled the still on their pipes, the beautiful tones of the _Kuo'ang'a_ , the royal anthem of the Imperial Dominion of Noukiios, echoed over the room's loudspeakers. As that haunting tune then faded, that was immediately followed by a massed trumpet fanfare that made Trosan gape in shock before he put his clenched right fist over his heart in salute to _Teran's Lament_ , the theme music of his own House; unlike other intergalactic powers, the Imperial Houses didn't have one unified "national" song. At the end of that, the elderly sailor standing to one side barked for the guard to go back to shoulder arms.

"Your Excellency, General Redet, welcome aboard Her Majesty's Canadian Starship _Haida_ ," Captain (Navy) Brian Gamblin greeted before lowering his arm, nodding his head in polite greetings.

Kaep' gave him the civilian hand-over-hand salute as she bowed her head to her host. "Heaven's most sincere blessings to you and your gallant crew, Lord Captain Gamblin," she greeted him in turn, then she gazed at her companion.

Trosan smirked as he gave the submariner his own hand salute. "Hail and well met, Captain Gamblin. Your command of _Haida_ in the recent mission to Yaminokuni earned you many fans in the know about this great ship and her sisterships."

"You're too kind, sir," Gamblin said as he offered his hand.

Remembering that type of greeting the Terrans used, the Seifukusu mage's son smiled as he firmly grasped the shorter man's hand, not putting too much strength into that grip. "So where is your lady admiral and your director?"

"They're busy right now with _Rittmeister_ von Taserich, President Lincoln, President Otako and Prime Councillor Anra in the Director's meeting room, General. This way, please," the native of Alberta then reported, waving to the door.

"We know the way, sir," Kaep' playfully said.

The visitors from Okusei and Dominos walked out of the materializer room and proceeded to the nearest turbolift station, the former submariner following them. "'Anra'," Trosan then stated. "That's a Yehisrite name. One of the Maidens?"

"Formerly from Falcros, the part that's now Chemlos," Gamblin said; he had been briefed on the reborn baroness' origins when she came aboard a half-hour ago, escorted by the Undying Lord and the Rail-Splitter. "She was killed by a rival before she could present herself to her countess and be properly acknowledged as the holder of her family seat. The rival and both of the Prime Councillor's then-escorts were also killed in that fight." He tried not to shudder as he then recalled how exactly did the youthful new leader of Sagussa's provisional government had been literally _**reborn**_ from the dead. "All three of them and the Prime Councillor's rival were made Daishi'cha, but the Prime Councillor, her rival and one of the escorts had medical nanites in them that nearly tore their bodies apart and unleashed a plague among hundreds of those poor women."

Kaep' and Trosan gaped. "Heaven's Gate! What happened?!" the former demanded.

"They all chose to die rather than see those nanites infect their new family, ma'am."

Silence fell as the three stepped into a turbolift, Gamblin then calling out for Deck A12 Aft. "The Cruel Fates are truly vicious at times," Trosan quietly declared. "But how exactly is Lady Anra still alive today?"

"Madame Relota Ugadese's late father took note of what happened to them about a decade ago, then healed them before transporting them back home, along with the remainder of a group of 4,915 Daishi'cha who call themselves the 'Returned Ones' now," the submariner from Alberta explained. "They're the ones who had to get all their sisters off that planet when this thing came in to kill them all, then they held it off until the _Rittmeister_ arrived and dealt with it permanently."

The car soon arrived at its destination. "Why would the Undying One suddenly take interest in _**Sagussa**_ of all places?" Kaep' then asked as they stepped out of the turbolift. "I know he's lived on the World of the Forge..." — she used that phrase in lieu of speaking the name "Yiziba" directly to not offend Trosan's sensibilities given the many previous times the Seifukusu had suffered at the hands of the Yizibajohei — "...since the end of your second world war, but..."

"He actually turns out to be Earth's first true intergalactic ambassador, ma'am, long before General Raeburn and her friends ever got out there," Gamblin said with a grin before he knocked at the door. "Madame Director?"

"Enter, Master Voyager Brian!"

The door was opened, allowing Kaep' and Trosan to walk inside. Their senior civilian host was on her feet already, walking over, her hands spread out in greeting. "Hail and well met, dear friend!" Moroboshi Hiromi said with a beaming smile as she warmly embraced the Noukiite chancellor, they sharing a kiss on the lips. The reborn Xiàolíng Emperor of the Latter Hàn Destiny then gazed at the very tall fellow who had accompanied Kaep' to this meeting before she gave him the military hand salute of old China. "Master General Trosan! Hail and well met, sir! Your father's blood runs true within your heart!"

The Seifukusu gaped at that compliment, then he dramatically bowed to the current civilian leader of Earth's planet-wide defence force. "Lady Hiromi, you are far too kind to my humble self," he ritually declared in thanks to such a comment while he wondered who had taught the Terran such courtesies. "I have looked forward to meeting you ever since Father spoke so highly of you at that meeting on Okusei after you freed your adopted race from Ōgi's fools!" He then sighed. "However, I sadly must also bear slightly ill news to you as well. It concerns your long-suffering brother and my youngest sister Paishu."

Hiromi blinked before she waved them over to the empty chairs at the one end of the meeting room table. Already there were Rear Admiral Heather Thompkins, her senior non-commissioned advisor Fleet Chief Master Petty Officer Patrick Bullard and all of Hiromi's three current lovers. "Do say on, good sir. I'm aware that Mistress Paishu is currently visiting my wonderful friend and your distant adopted kinsman Redet Danu at our observation station on Ceres. What happened?"

Trosan sighed as he took his seat; since Kaep' was the higher-ranked person, she got the chair for the guest of honour at the other end of the table from Hiromi. "My sister is quite the adventurous little sprite. Sometime before the Urusians came to plague your brother's life, she travelled incognito to Earth to see what was it that was causing such a furor in Onishuto and Ipraedos City. After all, we care not for 'lesser' races..." — the others in the room were quick to sense his derision at that term — "...having such a pathetic squabble over your home planet, which we have always seen as worthy of protection since the time after the Goa'uld were chased off Earth by the Undying One, the Immortal Master and the Merciful Prophet."

"Of course, all the races in the Federation and even the Ipraedies view the Magate Round's desire to see Earth kept free of overt alien influence as a disguise to mark their true desire to invade and enslave your people," Kaep' added.

"Paishu-san came to Earth?!" Hiromi wondered as she stared in confusion at her guest from Dominos. "I would think that her skin colour alone would have caused quite the furor among the locals were she seen!"

"In a place where 'cosplay' happens, my lady?"

That made the reborn emperor gape. "Japan?!" She then tensed as she began to see where this conversation was going. "You're implying that she had an intimate liaison with Onii-san?" Her jaw then dropped. "Was she left with a child...?!"

"She was left with a child. My niece Trolok," Trosan stated with a grim nod, which made Hiromi's lovers all wince. "However, now knowing what your brother endured because of this sacred promise he made concerning the Angel of Terra shortly after he visited the World of the Maidens ten seasons ago, I think he is not the father of Paishu's child. However, the person who did bed my sister did claim he was from your district in Tōkyō, did call himself by your brave brother's name..." He then smirked in wry amusement. "And did promise that he would take my sister's hand in marriage if she so desired."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then...

"Someone from Tomobiki _**used**_ my brother's name to hide his horrid abuse of your beloved sister?!" Hiromi snarled as a battle aura then flared around her. "Master Trosan, I would deeply appreciate a sample of your poor niece's DNA so we can trace down this disgusting miscreant so that Onii-san can avenge himself and your sister for such a cowardly act! Were my would-be sister-in-law Hensō still on Earth and still seeing herself as Onii-san's wife, she would no doubt have seen such a claim as a slight on her own honour, thus provoking a war you clearly know would cost both sides heavily were it to get out of control."

"If it would be allowed to go that far," Heather darkly mused.

Cold snickers filled the room. "You are too kind, my lady," Trosan said with a smile, his dark blue eyes sparking with both mirth and honesty. "I would have considered it a great honour to hail you as sister-in-law."

"You honour me, good sir," Hiromi said, making him blush. "Fear naught. Your sister's honour will be avenged."

"My thanks, Lady Director."

"Amazing how history can turn on a dime, isn't it?"

That was the former American Navy SEAL from Corpus Christi who was now the senior non-commissioned member of the Earth Defence Force. "Indeed, Master Sea Warrior Patrick, it is amazing at times," Hiromi said before she perked. "Ah...!"

The door to her private quarters then opened, revealing a man in his thirties. As the people in the room took in the imposing presence of the Undying Lord, the military personnel could only gape in shock on seeing he was now dressed in the service uniform of an officer in the Deutsches Heer. On the collars of his light grey jacket, the _waffenfarben_ trimming his epaulettes was the red trimmed with gold of a general officer; his collar badges were red with the golden wreath of laurel always worn by flag officers in the Federal Republic. On his shoulders were the four golden "pip" stars rising from a wreath of laurel marking him as a "four star" general. His awards, however, would make any modern German soldier gape before they saw his name tag over the left breast pocket and realized who he was. Around Josef von Taserich's neck and tucked under the collar of his dress shirt was the military version of the Pour le Mérite from old Prussia with golden oak leaves; that was accompanied with the ribbon and cross of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross from 1813, that accompanied by a 1939 series Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Wrapped from right shoulder to left hip was the sash and badge of the first class Order of the Red Eagle, old Prussia's second-highest order of merit; that was partially obscured by his grey Commander's Cord which marked his former position as a company commander in his home regiment of the Prussian Army. On his left breast pocket was the first class Iron Cross from the 1813 series, the undress ribbon of the second class Iron Cross from that series of Prussia's highest bravery decoration secured around the top button of his jacket and wrapped under the flap. His "salad bowl" of decorations contained three even rows, including undress ribbons for his neck, breast and sash orders. The undress ribbons of his first and second class Iron Crosses bore 1939 series "repeat" pin-on badges, though they didn't bear the Nazi swastika under the eagle over the year date of the start of World War Two; that had been replaced by oak leaf clusters. The left arm bore the shield crest of the Federal Republic of Germany, the right arm was bare as he didn't have any formation assignment. On his lower arms were cuff bands trimmed in silver bearing the title **SPEZIALISIERTE KRIEGSFÜRUNG**.

"If Dean can suffer, Josef, so can you!" Heather then teased.

As Taserich gave the arch-mage sorceress from Québec a slightly annoyed look — like the Protector of All Life, the Undying Lord didn't really see himself as a potential general officer even if he had won the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross at the end of the Napoleonic Wars for his leading Prussia's magical warriors in helping keep the magical peace in France — Hiromi sighed. "Mistress Heather! Grandfather Josef is having enough issues about this situation as is!" the reborn emperor then scolded, which earned her a surprised look from the immortal Prussian warlord. "Much that his actions in the recent world war were somewhat more honourable than most others from Germany during that wretched time, his current association with our friends from Sagussa necessitates the decision Mistress Angela and her good friends in bright Berlin made to secure such an alliance in the face of all the many threats we now face." She smiled at Trosan. "We, of course, wouldn't be so crass as to consider the noble Imperial Houses as such threats, Lord General Trosan. While there are the bloodthirsty war mongerers baying at your father's heels all the time, I know the Wise Lord Belok is strong enough to keep them on hard leashes."

"You ascribe powers to my father he will claim he doesn't possess, Lady Hiromi," the Seifukusu commander said as he rose to render a proper hand salute to the Undying Lord. "Master Tash Ri, your noble actions aiding the Imperial Houses in the final destruction of the House With No Name are still hailed with respect on Dominos. Your reputation as a warrior and wise mage has long preceded you, sir. My father and his allies will rejoice on hearing you have returned to Earth."

"Those people were all my friends even if they were mortal, young man," Taserich stated before he perked. "I remember your father crashing his ship in northern Norway when he was just a coronet in the Imperial House Guards before the turn of the last century. You're lucky magicals didn't take interest by the time I got to him; neither you nor your siblings would be alive if they decided Belok was a 'magical creature' and tried to drag him to the Chamber of Mysteries in Oslo."

"Father speaks of what you did for him all the time, sir," Trosan said as he waited for the older man to sit down before sitting himself. "May I ask where Lady President Otako and Lady Prime Councillor Anra are at this time?"

"In the midst of a mind-meld," Taserich said as he pointed into Hiromi's bedroom. "Much that Otako didn't suffer at the hand of her sister and template, she constantly has had to deal with considerable levels of anger from her sisters on the bioroid factory when it comes to Anra and her countrywomen. Anra herself doesn't deserve any of that abuse, nor do the other 'returned ones' who rescued the Daishi'cha from Karmalibra's attempt at killing them; they never got the chance to influence public policy before they were seen by their sisters as effectively dead, then frozen into storage chambers and expelled into space. I think we'll be able to see the Gihanrei's wish to have them go through body-swaps so they can help form a proper central government for the Fifth Republic even if their settling on Sagussa permanently is questionable at this time."

"Was it necessary to use a _**genesis bomb**_ on Sagussa, Grandfather?" Hiromi asked.

He tensed on hearing that title used by the reborn emperor, but then relaxed himself. Much that he didn't care to have such familiar titles used with him, he could sense that Hiromi had addressed him that out of the most profound respect atop his metaphysical connection to his "son" Hosan Hirosuke, the man responsible for Moroboshi Negako's effective creation over a millennia before. "It was. Karmalibra was no different than a vengeance demon like D'Hoffryn and his subordinates." He smirked as something came to him, then he made a gesture with his hand. "Come here now, Anyanka!"

A flash of light allowed a beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and dark eyes, currently dressed in casual civilians, to appear by the outer door. A gasp escaped her as she suddenly found herself aboard one of the magically-protected starships of the Earth Defence Force...before she tensed on sensing a _**very**_ familiar huge cauldron of power, then she chuckled. "Um... _Herr Rittmeister_..." Anya Jenkins said before her eyes locked on the insignia on the Undying Lord's shoulders. "Er, s-s-sorry..."

Taserich smirked as he allowed a fragment of ebony mesonium to appear over his hand. "Tell me, child...recognize this?"

The Swede-born vengeance demon-turned-human who had been effectively resurrected by the Avalonians of Santa Barbara around the same time Spike and Drusilla were both restored to full humanity blinked as her mage sight clicked in and she scanned what was there. Her face then contoured in outrage as the faint, ghostly image of her looks as a vengeance demon briefly appeared around her while her magic seemed to flare, then she blinked before she stared with a mix of wide-eyed disbelief, sheer relief and utter delight at the immortal Prussian warlord. "You KILLED this damned thing?!" she hissed.

"I take it this creature once loved to vex Master D'Hoffryn and his allies, Mistress Anya," Hiromi noted.

Anya groaned. "You wouldn't BELIEVE how much that thing loved to stick its nose inside other people's affairs, Hiromi! Even ours!" she snapped before she reached over to take the crystal in hand, sensing the faint magical echo of the creature that had neither allied with the Old Ones or with the Powers That Be because it simply thought itself _**superior**_ to both sides...which had long earned Karmalibra the hatred of ALL sides for its unwillingness to ally with either. "You're finally _**gone**_...!"

"It made the foolish choice of supporting an alternate timeline version of Hiromi's sister-in-law Miyake Shinobu after she somehow found a way to kill Sheko of all people, then become crown princess of Kyotos," Taserich explained, which made Hiromi gape in disbelief at him and Anya smirk at such a stupid act. "It was Karmalibra who engineered an attack on Sagussa a decade ago which nearly killed the Avalonians' spiritual 'cousins'. Since I owed Gihan an honour debt, I went to Sagussa and permanently dealt with it. Do inform your friends to pass it on that I will NOT care to have Inada Mizuho or her friends threatened in the future. They just got their lives back. They don't need them taken again for a long time to come."

She gave him a knowing look. While the Slayers and their allies would automatically support the Friend of Dragons given her saving Violet Day a month ago from nearly drowning in the Hudson River thanks to a rampant Wainakay demon, that didn't guarantee that those who would be scared of Inada Mizuho for what she did to William Herrman in Mahora back in late March wouldn't want to take a try at her or attack her friends. With the immortal Prussian warlord now in the corner of the would-be warrior-priestess from another dimension, not even the most rabid of the Old Ones would try their luck now; Taserich had enough demon blood on his hands to coat the surface of the Moon! "Some are going to be stupid and try, Tash Ri."

"Let them, Aud."

Silence fell for a moment, then Anya snickered. "I'll have to tell my fiancé and his friends first," she said as she passed the fragment bearing what was left of Karmalibra's immortal essence back to the Undying Lord. "They're going to have a big laughing fit on hearing that someone said to be as powerful as any of the _**Powers That Be**_ themselves could be taken down by _**you**_ of all people. I know why Résav'l has issues with dealing with threats from another dimension because of his oaths. You aren't bound by them. I'm sure the Slayers would love to come visit you when you get settled down on Rügen again."

Taserich sighed as he considered that, then he nodded in understanding. "If they wish to visit, I'll have my assistant come to their base to arrange appointments. My issues with Mizuho and the Sagussans come first."

She gave him a jaunty salute. " _Jawohl, mein Generaloberst_! By your leave?!"

He flicked his finger, teleporting the snickering Avalonian-Swede back to the Slayers' headquarters in England on the Solent near Southampton. Silence fell over the scene before the door to Hiromi's private quarters opened, revealing two women with tear-stained cheeks, they now accompanied by a certain former president of the United States. The gold-trimmed black duty jumpsuit Anra of Falcros now wore had the four stacked wreaths-of-laurel insignia of Sagussa's senior head-of-government; Otako ot'ndai-Meinyak was currently in her normal casual civilian clothes. "I take it your people's issues with such 'composite concept entities' are still as profound these days as they were back before the Clone Rights War," Anra observed.

"'Composite concept entities', Mistress Anra?" Hiromi's reborn second wife Izuku Mioko asked.

"That's a term the Te'a Studies Group give to extra-dimensional beings who see themselves as either 'gods' or 'demons', Mioko-san," the former central government junior minister explained. "I assume she was one."

"'The patron of scorned wives', she called herself, _Freiin_ Anra," Taserich stated as the Avalonian head-of-state and the Sagussan head-of-government took seats next to Trosan, who immediately rose and bowed deeply to them both before they relaxed themselves, then he sat back down. After Abraham Lincoln took his seat next to the man who saved his life in 1865, the Undying Lord added, "She had the power to bestow wishes, almost to the point where she could easily warp reality itself in a specific location. It was eventually stripped from her, but her long affiliation with such power saved her soul when she was killed in the so-called 'First Evil's' attack on Sunnydale seven years ago, thus allowing Otako's sisters now in Santa Barbara to restore her back to full life and health. Before you ask, the 'First Evil' is yet another such being like Karmalibra. If he ever decides to be foolish and tries to make another move to give himself physical form, I will deal with him."

The others in the room shuddered at that cold declaration, even Heather...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, an hour before supper...**_

"You're saying that someone used my name when they effectively RAPED you, then effectively left you _**pregnant**_?!"

"Hai, Ataru-sama, it's true," Redet Paishu said as she gazed with regret at the Terran tag race champion from the private communications suite on Ceres. Sitting beside her were Redet Danu and Miyake Saiko. "When Father showed me pictures of you from the meeting you attended on Okusei after your spectacular victory against Ōgi's hordes, I realized that the man who bedded me was clearly not you." The Seifukusu mage's daughter bowed her eyes. "I'm so sorry about this..."

"Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault," Ataru coolly said as he fought down the urge to let the Cyborg loose so he could go track down the idiot that caused this and give him what he deserved. "Satoko!" he barked out.

A flash of light later, the leader of the Maidens of the People's Will appeared in his bedroom. "What is it, Ataru?!" Manabe Satoko demanded, instantly sensing that her spiritual leader was now quite ticked off at something.

Ataru focused on the _haijo-ju_ in the kyūdō-ka's hand. "Can you focus on Redet Paishu on Ceres now, then also lock in on her daughter? She's on a Seifukusu battleship currently in orbit over one of the planets of the Cygni 61 system."

 _ **Easily done, Moroboshi Ataru**_ , the Wand of Scarogh announced, a touch of pride in its voice. _**Redet Paishu, would you desire your ladies-in-waiting to come with your daughter so that she can be properly attended to?**_

"Please!" Paishu declared.

 _ **Transporting now.**_

Two flashes of energy filled Ataru's large bedroom, allowing a group of four Seifukusu women, all in noblewoman's clothing, to appear in a circle close to the queen-sized bed that Ataru would use with his wives. In one's arms was a beautiful bundle of joy, who was now being nursed off one of the women's breasts; seeing that made Noda Satomi blink in confusion. At the same time, Paishu disappeared from the dataPADD screen just as she literally reappeared close to the side door leading into the memorial tower whose foundation made up part of the west wall of the bedroom. "«WHAT THE...?!»" the woman nursing Redet Trolok cried out in her native language as she looked around the room while the other girls screamed out in terror.

"«CALM DOWN!»" Paishu called out, making the others snap automatically to attention before they stared in confusion at her. "«Apologies, my friends!»" she said as she bowed her head to them, making the women relax. "«Given the issue I now have with Lord Ataru, his friend wished to bring Trolok to him right away so we can find my baby's father! We're on Earth now!»"

"This is Earth?!" one of the other ladies-in-waiting asked, her voice now coming out in accented Japanese. She was a very curvy woman of about the same age as Paishu, possessing dark reddish-green hair and chestnut eyes.

"Yes," Ataru spoke up as Satoko bowed apologetically at their visitors and Satomi shook her head in amusement, making the ladies-in-waiting all blink in surprise. "This is my house in Tomobiki to be exact."

They all gazed at him, then they blushed. All were about the same age as Ataru's would-be lover from Dominos, looking very well fed and treated with both compassion and dignity. While most people in the Galactic Federation strongly believed that members of the ruling houses of the Seifukusu Dominion always treated those not of their social class as "lesser" beings, Ataru learned much differently during his visit to Okusei when he finally was able to get the souls of his sisters out of his mind and think clearly for himself for the first time in a decade. All Seifukusu had house names on Dominos, even those who were as dirt-poor as any vagrant on Earth; it were the slave races that weren't given that same type of courtesy by their masters.

"A pity you aren't Trolok-chan's father, Ataru-sama," the woman nursing Trolok said as she gave him a shy look. She was a busty girl on Sōma Mitsuko's level with wavy black hair that went to mid-back and deep amethyst eyes. She didn't appear to be ashamed whatsoever considering that her breasts were now exposed in front of a man; seeing that, Satomi could only shake her head as she wondered how the social differences between Seifukusu and Terran would affect people if these girls stayed here for a time. "A man of your quite handsome looks would truly make a wonderful husband for Paishu-sama."

Ataru smirked before he gazed on his would-be lover. Paishu instantly blushed as those eyes locked on her, then she ducked her head. "Hey, Pai-chan, stop that!" he gently scolded as he walked over to gently pull her into his arms, making her cheeks turn nearly black in embarrassment from that close contact. "It's not your fault, okay!" he said as he tenderly kissed her forehead, making her immediately swoon at such a show of caring. "We'll get the idiot, I'll put him in the hospital for a bit, then we'll chain him to the altar, okay? I know what might happen if your dad's enemies pick up on this."

"I would still desire you," she admitted as she looked up at him before she flashed an apologetic look at Satomi. "Forgive me, Satomi-san. I know you are bonded to this man in your adopted race's equivalent of true marriage, but there are many others who would court him given what he did that saved your adopted race from a hell they didn't deserve at the hands of creatures who truly deserve the term 'lesser' from us!" As Satoko sharply hissed on hearing that, Paishu gazed at her for a moment, then she blushed as she suddenly realized from where the kyūdō-ka might actually hail from; she knew of the millions of Niphentaxian-Avalonian hybrids who had also been freed during the Liberation. "Forgive me, Satoko-san..."

Hearing that from the mage's daughter, Satoko breathed out. "It's okay! Lyna only knows, my people have been a race of barbarians when it comes to the Avalonians. It's a pity that whatever abolitionist feelings that were there in the outer colonies didn't morph into a movement not even the 'one true faith'..." — the Seifukusu were quick to sense the scorn in the kyūdō-ka's voice on saying that — "...could stop. It would have spared millions their lives and made us truly strong as a people."

"Your race was not worthy of the Avalonians," the woman who had first cried out when the ladies-in-waiting were brought into this place then noted. "Are you an Avalonian now? If you actually are Niphentaxian, your ears..."

"I crossed over at the Liberation," Satoko explained. "Ataru here is the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager." As the Seifukusu all gasped on hearing that while Ataru flustered and both Danu and her wife Miyake Saiko laughed as they overheard this from Ceres, the kyūdō-ka then added, "I'm the matriarch and Elder Mother of the Maidens of the People's Voice. We have always devoted ourselves into the service of the Chosen One. Anyone threatens him, they answer to us."

The visitors from Dominos nodded, then they all jolted as Ataru hissed out, "Shit! If you just brought them here...?!"

Paishu laughed. "Relax, Ataru-sama!" she playfully scolded. "My chambers on my brother's ship are always kept secure. No one there would notice my friends having vanished from it; not even the security officers could scan into it!"

"Because of your daughter?" Satomi asked.

"Aye! Your husband has the rights of it when it comes to my child. If it was discovered that my honour was abused..."

"Honour killing," Ataru finished as Paishu shuddered.

Satomi groaned. Inada Mizuho had dealt with some issues like that in the Middle East and elsewhere over the last few months. Idiots who tried to pull those type of stunts with innocent girls whose only crime was that they got sexually curious had suffered greatly, many having their memories wiped out of such "offending" children. Of course, local magical ministries had always been on the lookout for incidents when it centred on Mizuho moving in to deliver some heaven-sent vengeance on such goose-stepping lunatics. Magicals in the Islamic world had always been very liberal when it came to how women lived their lives, going out of their way to protect even normal women if they were targeted for honour killings. The widespread fame of the " _ **Ḵādima Zar**_ _ **ādušt**_ " — as Ataru's other bond-mate was known among magical Muslims — was quite wide and she was seen as an agent of Allāh Himself when she came down to protect people who were threatened for whatever reason.

"Satoko-san, can you find who is Trolok-chan's father?" Saiko asked from Ceres.

 _ **I have located him, Miyake Saiko**_ , the Wand of Scarogh announced.

" **Who?!** " Ataru snarled, his left eye flashing.

As the Seifukusu quaked on hearing that metallic voice utter from Paishu's would-be lover, the Wand replied, _**Shirai K**_ _ **ōsuke.**_

That made Ataru's jaw drop. "Darling!" Danu gasped. "Wasn't Kōsuke...?!"

" **My so-called 'best friend' from Class 1-4** ," Ataru coldly replied as he fought down the urge to transform, then race out of the house to trace down the man who distantly resembled a freckled-faced version of Perm of the Stormtroopers before turning him into a human pretzel to later present to Paishu so she could get her justice. " **He was shifted into another class after the turn of the school year, just after Tariko, Hiromi and I came back to Earth full-time. I haven't spoken to K** **ōsuke since.** "

 _ **There is a reason for that, Moroboshi Ataru.**_

" **Being?** "

 _ **He is currently a Sh**_ _ **ōzoki android, though he was born a Niphentaxian-Terran hybrid child.**_ As the people in the bedroom and on Ceres gaped, the Wand added, _**Shirai K**_ _ **ōsuke had surgery done to disguise his ears when his father settled on Earth full-time in the wake of his retirement from the Union Cultural Observation Ministry. His family was all converted 14.7 months ago. When Shirai Kōsuke copulated with you, Redet Paishu, he had just undergone conversion, so he could not give you a child. However, his impregnating you was deliberate**_ _ **; his internal systems did allow him to absorb another person's genetic pattern to inject as artificial sperm into a woman's body**_ _ **. Given the interest the leaders of the Union of Uru and the Ipraedies Empire were hen showing towards the United Nations of Earth, Shirai Kōsuke's father**_ _ **concluded**_ _ **that anything that could be done to remove any potential alien threat to Earth was to be done.**_

"How?!" the lady-in-waiting nursing Trolok demanded. "Is Trolok-chan...?!"

 _ **Redet Trolok's genetic pattern does make Moroboshi Ataru her true father, Juran Seiya**_ , the Wand said, making Ataru croak in shock as Paishu gasped in horror while Satomi hissed in outrage. _**Since he believed that Redet Paishu would have been ultimately killed for her dishonour, Shirai K**_ _ **ōsuke assumed that Moroboshi Ataru would not come to harm should someone come to Earth to see redress for such dishonour. After all, if the Imperial House of the Seifukusu Dominion did move en masse into the Sol system, the Union of Uru and their allies would have to respond.**_

"Intergalactic war...!" Satoko hissed out as she realized how close her own spiritual leader came to being at the centre of something he would never desire to be part of. "No observer would EVER do something that crazy!"

" **He's Sh** **ōzoki now, Satoko** ," Ataru coldly declared as the air around him began to chill noticeably, which made Paishu shudder. Realizing that his would-be wife was about to see his transformation right up close and personal, he fought down the urge to let the cold fire fully take him, then he relaxed himself, the glow in his left eye fading. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he hissed her forehead again, which made her smile at him. "You're staying here from now on, Pai-chan. No mother of MY child is going to be made to answer for something that was never her fault in the first place." As she gaped in shock at him, he winked. "I'll tell your brother about this as soon as I meet the guy. I'm gonna love to see Hiromi's reaction to this."

Her cheeks once again darkened in embarrassed delight as she considered what he had just offered her, then she smiled. "I always wanted you in the end, Ataru-sama. Even after I suspected it wasn't you who gave me my daughter." She leaned up to tenderly kiss him, then she pulled away from him before she walked over to Satomi, making the bookstore owner's daughter blink in confusion until the mage's daughter leaned up to tenderly kiss her on the lips. "You and Mizuho-sama are his wives, Satomi-sama. Among my people, having a concubinage of lovers is permitted when it comes to a titled lord to ensure the succession; it's no different than what happened in these lands in more ancient times. I will be but his mistress."

Satomi blinked as she felt her own outrage at what had just been revealed about her bond-mate surged up her throat to almost make her scream out, then she took a deep breath before she drew the shorter woman into her arms, leaning down to kiss her on the lips. "You'll have to be one of us now," she warned before she gazed on the ladies-in-waiting. "You girls, too. As to how you'll look after you cross over..." She then smirked. "We'll have to see about that."

"They could be made to look Terran, Satomi-san," Satoko proposed.

"No! That's white-washing what that bastard did to Paishu-chan, Satoko-san," Satomi coldly declared. "We go and visit him now, expose him for what he did and make him publicly confess to raping Paishu-chan. If we can, let's get Paishu-chan's brother here to witness that confession as well. He can then tell his father what happened. If we have people there who could film this to be uploaded to the Internet, we could start putting out the alert about the crap the Shōzoki unleashed on Earth since that first technological cache was found by Raeburn-shōshō's student in the years after the Greater East Asia War!"

"We've had issues with the Shōzoki as well, Paishu-sama," Seiya noted.

Paishu blinked, then she nodded before she pulled away from Satomi, then she ritually knelt before Ataru. "I beg thee to avenge me, my lord!" she declared as she gazed upon him, her dark eyes shining with hope.

Ataru's left eye glowed again. " **It will be resolved, Paishu.** "

A burble escaped the young baby in Seiya's arms, making people gaze upon Trolok as she seemed to look around the strange and bright room she had been brought into while she was busy enjoying nourishment. Seeing that, all the girls in the room and on Ceres felt their hearts instantly melt as the brown-haired girl with the Seifukusu azure skin seemed to giggle.

 _I'm a_ **dad** _now...!_ Ataru breathed out as he tried not to break down and cry...

* * *

 _ **Suppertime...**_

"What the FUCK did you just say, 'Tomi?!"

"Miss Hirono! Don't swear...!"

" _ **SHUT IT, ELLIE!**_ " Shimizu Hirono roared out. " _ **THERE AIN'T NO TIME FOR THAT SHIT NOW!**_ "

Satomi sighed as Ellie Reese yelped in fright at that scream from Sōma Mitsuko's number two girl. "This jackass' old man decided that since having the Urusians or the Ipraedies come marching into this solar system and completely altering the course of human history wasn't going to do his people any good — even if we're not sure as to WHICH culture he was actually loyal to! — he was going to make his son _**rape**_ an innocent girl and force her to become a mother WAY too early in her life!" As many of the other women hearing this all winced on hearing that, the bookstore owner's daughter snarled, "Since that would have provoked an instant response from Paishu-san's father to go find whoever it was that abused his little girl like that, any move towards Earth would have instantly triggered a response from Uru and maybe Ipraedos. End result: A three-way war over Earth with who knows how many people dying, Ataru here being probably forced to marry Paishu-san...!"

"And the Niphentaxians and the Shōzoki both getting free hands to continue to interact in a clandestine manner with the people here," Mizuho calmly concluded. Everyone was now meeting in the main recreation room south of Ataru's bedroom to get the big revelation; that meeting allowed them to also enjoy some of the homemade food that Ataru's classmates prepared for all of them the previous week. The muffled noise of construction in the background was thanks to Avalonian engineers who had been brought in to transform the meeting hall north of the memorial tower into a new shared bedroom for Paishu, her daughter and her four ladies-in-waiting. Paishu herself was with Ataru's sister Negako in the dōjō to allow the ninjutsu grandmaster a chance to properly examine her niece Trolok. A large screen television on the southside balcony showed the image of Ataru's sister and her lovers in Hiromi's private meeting room aboard _Haida_ ; also present was Paishu's elder brother and the Noukiite imperial chancellor of the Outmarches. "If the Shirai family was still loyal to their birth race, it would be the best of all worlds. Their 'goddess' figure would be safe on Uru; her father would dare NOT see her come into a battle zone. If Master Kōsuke and his parents were loyal to lost Shōzoran, it would present a 'marketing' opportunity for the machines on that world to offer the people of Earth technological upgrades to better defend themselves. If that resulted in any form of intervention from Dominos, Ipraedos or Uru and her allies in the Federation, so much the better. It would directly attack the Niphentaxians by proxy by wrecking the ebb and flow of Terran culture, which would weaken Phentax Two considerably."

"And give Shōzoran a dominant economic and military position throughout much of the local cluster."

That was Redet Trosan. "Damn! In all my born days, I ain't ever thought that living in this time would get to be so dang complicated!" Harry Hunter then hissed. The members of the Anderson County Amazons who had camped in Tomobiki over the last two weeks had returned back from the meeting in Katsushika; they had gladly escorted Nakagawa Noriko and the other _Program_ players, plus their current companions, that had gone to meet with Rachel Thornbridge in Katsushika. They were seated as a group close to the old recreation room. Also with them were the sekirei who bonded with them or intended to bond with them. "How dangerous are these folk anyway?" she then wondered.

"To use terms you will find less difficult to truly understand and comprehend, Mistress Harriet, they transformed themselves into highly-advanced mechanical golems, powered by technology that would easily match Sagussa on many levels," Mizuho explained. "Much of it is mesonium-based to better allow the souls of those of that world who wished to live an existence free of all base emotions, making them the perfect type of logic machines the Daishi'cha on Sagussa were before Ataru visited that world. That would explain how Negako was not able to sense the truth of that fellow, even if he was an android during the time Hensō lived here. Given how powerful Ataru proved himself to be at the Ides of March, such a demonstration would have been more than enough impetus for Kōsuke to stay as clear of him as possible." She chuckled. "At the same time, Beloved, you were all distracted by what had befallen all the workers of the Dobu Salada as well as your friend Inoue Tamako."

"Yeah, that's true," Ataru breathed out.

"How long have you known him?"

That was Ataru's "mother", who was seated at the southern end of the recreation room across from where he and his bond-mates were. "Since kindergarten," he confessed. "He was sometimes as close to me as Shinobu was. When Hensō came, he went crazy for her like the other guys did, but didn't really go along with what Tokiko's brother started." He blinked. "Hey, wait a minute! He was never taken to Uru when Elle came by to try to marry me! He was here on Earth all the time..."

"Probably was able to mask himself from detection by Kamen to be 'invited' to the wedding," Satomi mused.

"He was."

People turned as Negako walked into the room, accompanied by Paishu carrying her daughter and Negako's girlfriend Shichinohe Kaga. "Did you ever sense what he was?" Annabelle Maxwell asked as the ninjutsu grandmaster sat down.

"I sensed something off about him, but I never interacted with him closely when I was hired on as part of the staff at Tomobiki High School, Annabelle. Thus, I did not realize what he truthfully was until tonight," Negako stated while Paishu came to sit next to Mizuho and Kaga moved to relax beside her lover. "Given what was revealed after the Liberation concerning what I did while I was within Ataru's mind, the Tōkyō Metropolitan Government Board of Education gave all students attending that school the right to elect to not be part of any classes I taught. This was the same sort of reasoning that governed Sakurambō Sakura's presence at the school and how students were to interact with her. Many parents were uncomfortable with an active Shintō shrine miko also serving as a school nurse, so before she was so easily deprived of her magic by Ataru in March, there were two nurses on staff, Sakura and Chikamatsu Fusae. Students had the option to have either as their 'primary' nurse."

"Fortunately, one of the things Baka Kā-san did right was to sign the chit that allowed me to be looked after by Fusae-sensei," Ataru noted as Hiromi chuckled and some of the other people in the room shook their heads at all the school politics that haunted Tomobiki High. "Much that I always chased Sakura, anytime I was hurt, it was Fusae-sensei who looked after me. It gave me some joy to see her rip into Hensō and Shinobu whenever they got crazy with me even if I WAS at fault."

"You sure as hell are pretty forgiving about that, Ataru."

That was Tabitha Walters, who was standing behind Mitsuko, her hands on the former prostitute's shoulders. "You weren't here when people in class asked me about it, Tabitha-san, but when people wondered why was it I was able to forgive Onē-san for what she did, I made them realize that as a sentient being, Onē-san had every damn right in the world to seek her freedom after she became fully sentient back in 1808." He smirked. "Yeah, I tell everyone that I did vow that I'd make Onē-san a pretty girl — which as you all can see, she certainly is! — and I was able to see it happen. And _**survive**_ it, too!"

"I'm not complaining," Kaga noted.

Delighted laughter filled the room. "So when do we make our move on this fucking traitor and skewer the jerk to a lamppost?" Numai Mitsuru asked. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't like the idea of someone who gladly went and raped a girl just to start a fucking _**war**_ of all things getting away with that shit!" He then smiled as his lover Shibata Yōko squeezed his arm in support. "Can't believe we actually were ready to do that shit to girls back in Shiroiwa! What were we thinking?!"

"At least I hope you don't put Miss Yōko in the family way before you marry her, Mister Mitsuru," Belle noted.

Kiriyama Kazuo's number two waved his hands in a peaceful gesture as the deacon's daughter from Pendleton wagged her finger at him in warning. "Chill, Belle! I ain't wanting to get a short haircut thanks to that sabre of yours!"

More laughter filled the room. "I would suggest we strike now," Kazuo then stated, which made everyone gaze at him as they listened to his still-sharp mind go to work on this situation. "Use Mizuho, Shōgo and Satoko's people as invisible support in case Kōsuke and his family have allies in Tomobiki who can come to their aid. Have people with cell phones or video cameras there to record the confrontation, then upload it into social media immediately. Given how much people on Earth and in space are interested in events surrounding your family, Ataru, it would be picked up on within minutes, then reflected back to people in Tomobiki. Those who are being subtly influenced by the interdimensional creatures who frequent this town will not have time to compose any sort of response that would cast you in the wrong light until agents of government are forced to intervene. If people such as Mendō Shūtarō try to act in the fact of that, they will have shame cast on _them_ , not you."

"Oi, Kin, did the other you get on with Kōsuke's mom?" Hirono asked.

Kinshō hummed as she reflected back on the memories she had absorbed from Ataru's mother before the woman had been taken out of Nishitōkyō General Hospital and delivered to a remote clinic out on Sado Island off the East Sea coast of Japan, where no one knew of her and could draw connections to Ataru. "As a matter of fact, they were pretty close. Junko-san was quite supportive of her when Kaeru was taken to Nagussa years ago." As people gazed upon Ataru's new twin brother, she then smiled. "Well, I could go visit her to renew a friendship, then my lovely girlfriend here will scent her out."

She gazed up at Kaie Hideko in emphasis; the sekirei whip fighter was standing close to her ashikabi. "That's a great idea!" Musubi Ayako declared as the other sekirei nodded in delight at the idea of finally getting into a scrap. "Mizuho-san can protect us in case they use that techno-organic gunk that turns people into Shōzoki androids, then we can help out!"

"Ayako, you and Hisako will have to bond with Eleanor and Bridget before you can use your full strength," Negako advised.

That made both Ellie Reese and Bridget Moore tense as the unspoken suggestion to become Avalonians themselves sank in. "There's another way, Negako-san," Kochō Akiko then proposed. "Get Karasuba involved."

"Romi-nē?!" Musubi asked.

"Of course! Even if her bond with Natsuo-san doesn't really give her additional strength as my bond with Dally gives me, her friendship with Negako-san is quite well known in many circles, Ayako. And it would serve as an excellent introduction to our presence on Earth in a positive way. After all, if the Sekirei Plan is going to be pushed onto us, MBI can't maintain stealth over it once fighting picks up. Minaka has no control over Tōkyō at this time and Tomobiki is considered outside the fight zone."

"We should ask Romi-san if she wishes to participate, Onē-sama," Hiromi mused from her office on _Haida_.

Negako smirked, then tapped a control on the dataPADD sitting on the table nearby. The television screen then became a split-screen, the right side now showing a spartan bedroom inside the current headquarters complex of Mid-Bio Informatics in Kōtō. A second later, a lithe yet curvy woman possessing long silver hair in a high ponytail and eyes the shade of a hurricane on a hawkish face that gave her a huntsman's look stepped into the view range of her own private dataPADD, which couldn't be monitored by MBI's people. Her eyes then went wide on seeing who was calling in. "Hey, Negako! What's going on up in space?! The idiots here picked up that huge fleet out by Mars and they're shitting themselves right now!"

"Ataru's past has come to haunt him in unique ways, Romi," the ninjutsu grandmaster stated as she gave Karasuba Romi a knowing look. "It appears the Daishi'cha do not care to give up their claims on him and desire him to become their first Daimon'cha and Daite'cha regardless of certain issues that forced Josef von Taserich to intervene. Even more so, a former classmate of Ataru's was transformed into a Shōzoki android prior to Hensō's arrival on Earth last summer. This fellow is actually Niphentaxian in descent; his father was a retired cultural observer here." As the leader of the current Disciplinary Squad and the only sekirei to serve in all three incarnations of MBI's special security group tensed on hearing that, Negako's smile turned icy, making many of the people inside the recreation room shudder in horror at such a look. "Since he had prior knowledge of Urusian intentions to invade Earth, he felt it was proper to provoke a multi-front intergalactic war between the Urusians and their allies, the Ipraedies and the Seifukusu. Doing so in a very sublime way." She indicated Paishu.

"You are the Protector of the Tengp'yek...?"

To the surprise of all the sekirei there, Karasuba blushed on hearing the Noukiite term for her race escape the wide-eyed blue-skinned girl seated close to Negako's last host. She then quickly recovered; even if she still had the urge many times to cut loose and either maim or kill something, to say anything of finding it still next to impossible to respect native-born Terrans for a whole tonne of reasons, the swordswoman had been tempered enough in the early part of her life by Negako and others to allow her to be quite civilized and behave with something close to proper decorum among other people. "Um, y-yeah...!"

"You need not fear any attempt at removing your ability to nest, Lady Romi."

That was Mizuho, who was giving the "single number" sword fighter a knowing look. "With YOU watching my back, Bōko-chan?" Karasuba teasingly stated as she gave the would-be warrior-priestess a delighted smirk. "I can damn hell count on it! By the way, thanks again for pointing us to those stupid wand-wizards who decided they didn't care to listen to what the Heavenly Sovereign told them about us." She then chortled. "Like I always said, take their pretty sticks away...!"

"Oh, you are DEFINITELY riding with us in the future, Romi!"

That was a smirking Tabitha. As Karasuba chortled at that open invitation to become part of the Anderson County Amazons by the native of Townville, Hiromi then bade from her office, "You best go visit the house to see what is happening, Romi-san. I know you've been quite devilish to those would-be ashikabi who think it's their right to take the maidenheads of the younger feathers without properly winging them first." As the natives of South Carolina gasped on hearing that, she indicated Trosan. "Master Trosan's delightful sister was raped by Onii-san's so-called 'best friend' to provoke the start of that war Onē-sama just spoke to you of, leaving him with the beautiful child now in her arms. And he did it using Onii-san's DNA!"

Karasuba jolted, then she smirked. "Which 'friend' are we talking about, Ataru?"

"Shirai Kōsuke, Romi-san," Ataru answered.

"The dumb fool that looks like that tall 'stormtrooper' that lapped up Hensō's butt all the time?"

He nodded, giving her a savage grin in return. "You bet!"

"Oh, good!" the swordswoman purred in a voice that promised massive destruction, her tongue slipping out of her mouth to lick her lips in anticipation. "I've always wanted to hear an android _**squeal**_ when I cut it to pieces...!"

* * *

 _ **Near the Dobu Salada Inn, close to the Mizunok**_ _ **ōji estate and the border between Tomobiki and Niiza, nightfall...**_

"How awful, Kinshō-san! You can't remember a THING?!"

"No, not a thing, Rui-chan! Last thing I DO recall is when...!"

Hearing that youthful voice, Shirai Junko perked as she looked over her shoulder just as she was about to walk into her family's bungalow near the intersection of Hōya-dōri and Kitamachi-dōri, the latter being the main east-west thoroughfare bisecting the northern edge of Tomobiki which also formed the southern boundary of the home property of Japan's second-richest family. Her eyes were quick to focus on the two women now approaching her house. One of them was Aisuru Rui, mother of her son's old classmate Aisuru Satoshi, the leader of Lum's Stormtroopers. The other...

"Kinshō-san...?!"

Kinshō perked on hearing that surprised voice, then she looked over before she gaped in delighted recognition on who was now gazing her way. "Sakata Junko!" she called out as she waved in delight, then she moved away from Megane's mother, jogging over at quite the clip to approach the other woman. "My gods! It IS you! How are you, Jun-chan?!"

The wife of a clerk in the Nishitōkyō city government felt her jaw drop as she took in the youthful woman coming at her, one who appeared to be TWENTY at the most in lieu of the mother of thirty-eight Moroboshi Kinshō was. "But...h-h-HOW?!" she demanded as she took in the slender body, wilder hair and unmarked face. "You're supposed to still be in the hospital...!"

Kinshō laughed as she politely bowed her head to her old schoolmate. Back in high school, Junko had been two years ahead of the "Goddess of Love" (as Yamaguchi Kinshō had arrogantly nicknamed herself when she proceeded to literally bed every person who caught her eye when they crossed her path). Like many students who went to the school when Kinshō had been there, Junko had been briefly lovers with the other girl. The two had remained friends even after the former had graduated and eventually married the older and more suave Shirai Takechi, then starting his career as a civil servant for the city of Hōya. Junko had been there when Kinshō had been forced to marry Moroboshi Muchi, supported her during the tough pregnancy with Ataru and Kaeru, then had been a shoulder for the younger woman to cry on after Kaeru had died and his body disappeared. They weren't as close now as they had been in the past, but Junko still saw the other woman as her friend...

She gargled as Kinshō flew into her arms, landing a sloppy wet kiss on the older woman's lips. As Rui gasped in shock at that provocative display from her old classmate, their sempai seemed to shudder for a moment.

«Be free, Jun-chan...»

Junko's eyes widened in shock...

...before a strange type of energy flooded her body from head to toe, causing all her internal systems to seize up for a moment. As her housekeeping computer sent out an alarm that she was being attacked by a possible malware virus, the Terran-born Shōzoki gynoid then seemed to purr as her own intimate systems triggered. Pulling Kinshō closer to her, Junko allowed the rejuvenated woman to feel her up; it was clearly obvious that Ataru's mother had to undergo a body-swap to help her recover from the wounds Miyake Shinobu had given her nearly two weeks earlier; no doubt, the sheer shock of what had happened obviously gave Kinshō amnesia. At the same time this was happening, hidden loyalty locks no different than what had been inflicted on Avalonians by the Niphentaxians suddenly failed, the harsh programming that forced the former Sakata Junko to be totally loyal to her husband and son in all things then re-configuring to accept Yamaguchi Kinshō as her new mistress.

" _ **YOU WILL NOT WIN, SAGUSSAN!**_ "

Kinshō pulled away from the dazed Junko as the living room windows exploded outward, revealing a snarling man appearing to be in his mid-forties, dressed now in casual clothes after a long day at work. Thanks to the shattered glass that had ripped through his outer pseudo-skin, Shirai Takechi was instantly exposed to the two women there...not to mention the dozen or so other people who were nearby, all of whom had cell phones out and were taking PICTURES of him!

" _ **IT'S A ROBOT!**_ " Rui screamed out as she scrambled back.

Kinshō grabbed Junko, then leapt into the air, getting her off the property. Howling in anger, Takechi moved to leap after her...

...then he screamed out in surprise as a metal whip lashed around him to snare him tight, arresting his movement up, then sending him crashing down onto the street nearby. People screamed out as doors of nearby houses flew open to allow neighbours to surge out and see what was happening just as a certain caramel-haired sekirei came down to land on the ground nearby, using her telekinetic powers to draw her whip back from her target. The now quite-damaged Niphentaxian-born android snarled as he got back to his feet, then glared death at Kinshō's new bond-mate. " _Halet'nou_...!"

" **That's the** _ **Goa'uld**_ **word for a sekirei, Takechi** ," a metal-tinged voice echoed from nearby, making the just-revealed machine spin around to see someone move protectively close to his reborn and rejuvenated mother. " **I would think that anyone who is native of** _ **Shōzoran**_ **of all the planets in the galaxy wouldn't give a damn what those parasites like to think. Or are you really answerable to one of the System Lords? How many betrayals was it to the end, Takechi?** "

"Hey, Ataru...!"

Ataru turned...

...then barely shook when Shirai Kōsuke's fist slammed into his metal jaw. As the onlookers winced — they all knew from what they learned about this futuristic version of Sagussa's god of death that Ataru was tougher than the likes of Hibiki Ryōga when he was struck — they then gaped as Ataru's best male friend from childhood pulled his hand back, clearly not bothered by having hit something as hard as diamond. A moment later, a grey-and-black blur then landed behind Kōsuke, making him turn before his eyes went wide on recognizing the guardian of the Kamikura-jima Nest Ship there, a hungry smile on her face.

"That's my friend, robot," Karasuba Romi then sneered out...

...before her nōdachi ripped out in a blinding blur just as Ataru stepped back, the sharp tip of the magically-hardened metal tearing apart whole hunks of the android teenager's body in the virtual blink of an eye. People seeing this screamed in horror on seeing the physical proof that their young neighbour was in fact some sort of alien android — many instantly concluded there was just no way that current levels of Terran technology could make something so lifelike; atop that, people all knew that the Steel Angels had to be women due to the nature of their original construction, so this thing couldn't be magical! — Kōsuke staggered back to collapse against a telephone pole. Meanwhile, Takechi was moving towards his dazed wife, his arms morphing into combat blades so he could lunge over and dismember the reborn monster moving to take Junko away from him, the passionate loyalty the man born Sulan dai-Sorath felt for his local-born wife surging up past the many loyalty locks he had been programmed with to ultimately serve the cause of the supreme machine now active on Shōzoran.

Kaie didn't give him a chance.

Her whip lashed out to snare his neck, then with a powerful yank, she decapitated him. As his body collapsed in a shower of sparks onto the ground, his head crashed down on the street close to Ataru. The transformed tag race champion drew out one of his stun sticks from under his arm shield, then he jabbed the tip into the city worker's eye, unleashing a torrent of electricity to overwhelm the internal processors deep inside Takechi's artificial mind. A garbled squeal escaped the severed head before silence then fell, making Kōsuke scream as he lunged at his classmate, his own hands morphing into shredding claws. " _ **YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL NEVER HAVE SAGUSSA! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!**_ "

His voice melted into a squeal of agony as Karasuba's sword lanced up to impale him right into the groin, causing all his systems to suddenly overload as major power conduits were severed. Before Kōsuke could wonder what was happening to him, the sekirei swordswoman turned and pitched him right at a set of handy power lines. Contact with them caused thousands of volts to rip through his body, totally shorting everything out inside him and sending him crashing face-first into the street below. "My! My! My!" Karasuba then icily chortled as Kaie came up to join her nest-sister after she had used her whip to totally dismember Takechi's body. "You androids _**do**_ squeal so nicely after you get sliced up!"

"Kōsuke-san."

Kōsuke jolted as his ears picked up that familiar voice with its odd accent, then he shakily looked up before his eyes went wide on seeing the azure-skinned woman standing there, she being protected by what was obviously her older brother and a baby in protective blankets held closely in her arms. A chuckle then escaped him as he moved to stagger to his feet...before he gasped as the servos in his hips failed from lack of power, making him collapse once more onto his face.

"Pai-chan..." he grunted with a touch of his own suave voice as he moved to boost himself onto his elbows. "You're not dead yet..." With a cold chuckle that made many of the neighbours gasp in horror as they realized that they knew NOTHING of this particular boy whatsoever, he moved to slide himself closer to her. "I'll...just...correct...that..."

" **You must have had fun** _ **raping**_ **her, knowing she would have been put to death for her 'dishonour'. Eh, Kōsuke?** "

As more shocked gasped escaped the onlookers — as many people in Tomobiki knew regardless of how they might view Moroboshi Ataru personally, he did NOT condone rape of any sort — Kōsuke chuckled. "Necessary sacrifice...old friend," he admitted as he moved to slide closer to Paishu, not noting her brother Trosan wasn't moving to pull her clear. "We knew...you had been selected...as the Fifth Republic's Daite'cha. That couldn't...be allowed. Knowing what you did...to the flesh-bots when you...saved them from Ōgi and...his idiots...we knew...you'd turn the rogues...on Earth...into flesh-bots themselves. Look what...Mizuho-chan...did to those...rogues in Canada...that were made...to attack Raeburn-shōshō's student..."

If he could, Ataru would be grinning madly at that open confession. " **Since you couldn't RISE to the occasion when you seduced Paishu, it was no wonder that you needed MY DNA to help impregnate her** ," the machine-man then noted, making people gasp as they looked at him, then the child in the alien woman's arms. As Kōsuke awked at that brutal verbal insult to his manhood, the avatar of the Master of Entropy shook his head. " **Pity you never counted on the fact that Paishu's family were far more caring than you first predicted. But that's always been the failing of what happened to your adopted people after they underwent the Great Conversion all those years ago. Emotions were seen as wasted energy. Just because your predecessors were scared of them, you all tried to make yourselves be like Onē-san...** "

"And Negako is a MILLION times better than MERE MACHINES like you!" Karasuba coldly noted as she raised her sword. "Since you're so nicely enslaved to this master computer of yours, that means you're NOT sentient! Aw! Too bad...!"

Her nōdachi lashed out to sever Kōsuke's head from his shoulder, making him squeal as his body collapsed onto the street and the skull was sent flying into the border wall of his family property. As people winced on seeing that, a triumphant smile then crossed Paishu's face. "Oh, poor Kōsuke," she trilled out as she gazed with total contempt at him. "Rendered a _**mere machine**_ by such uncaring creatures as what inherited Shōzoran centuries ago. You were hardly a man at all to me." She then walked over to stand close to Ataru just as he allowed the cold fire to transform him back to normal, then he reached over to draw a protective arm around her. "After I got my new body this evening, I allowed my beautiful Ataru-sama to take me right then and there. He was a MILLION times more of a man than a mere SEX TOY like you!" As the still-human part of Kōsuke's mind made him snarl at that brutal slight against his manhood, she gazed fondly at the beautiful bundle of joy in her arms. "And even more, I gave him a daughter and heir! All YOU get right now is permanent deactivation. Was it worth it?"

"More than that, Pai-chan," Ataru stated.

"Oh?"

"Mizuho!"

"Yes, Beloved?!"

People looked up as a certain would-be warrior-priestess floated down to stand beside him, the Staff of Gihan in hand, then they cheered. "Contact our friends on the Mobile Science Station," Ataru declared. "Have them prepare a _**genesis bomb**_." As people gasped on hearing that, he smirked at Kōsuke. "We'll have Cassandra deliver it to Shōzoran and destroy everything that's there. Once the planet is rendered habitable for the use of SENTIENT BEINGS and all traces of the 'perfect culture' are wiped out, Lord Trosan, House Moroboshi offers it to House Redet as a war prize in repayment for your sister's suffering."

The Seifukusu general blinked in shock on hearing that before he gracefully bowed to his sister's new lover. "Your gift is too gracious, Lord Ataru! On behalf of my humble House, I accept such a prize!" He then chuckled. "Much that I know now that you are bound to Wise Mistress Mizuho of House Inada and Noble Mistress Satomi of House Noda, please accept my dear sister as your concubine so that hers and your daughter can be raised properly so she could have a life here on Earth..."

" _ **YOU WILL NOT...!**_ "

An electronic squeal then escaped Takechi's severed head as a foot crushed the metal skull. "Shut up, you worthless hunk of scrap!" Junko snarled after she pulled her foot back, then she walked over to move to crush her son's head.

"Kā-chan...!"

"You're no son of mine!"

The foot came down, brutally shattering Kōsuke's jaw. As people around them winced at that sight, Kinshō then came over to warmly comfort the now-sobbing woman. People then fell silent as Ataru's mother moved to escort the now-widowed housewife from the scene, Kaie heading over to accompany them back to the Moroboshi property several blocks away.

"The Wise Lord's justice is done," Mizuho coldly noted. "Druj is expunged from this sad town."

Karasuba grinned as she sheathed her sword while Paishu leaned close to Ataru, she holding up Trolok so he could gaze once more at his child. Seeing that, all the women there could only smile in mute sympathy at what had just been revealed...

* * *

 _ **Nearby...**_

The diminutive man in the regular clothes could only shake in outrage on seeing what was happening now.

It was pretty damned obvious what that bastard Moroboshi and his friends from another dimension were planning.

He could sense the people who had seen the total destruction of the Shirai family immediately move to start tweeting to their friends over their phones as well as post pictures and videos of Kōsuke's and Takechi's destruction onto places such as Facebook and YouTube. Knowing how fast modern communications worked, the master of dark dreams knew that by the time Ataru's classmates woke up in the morning, they would be facing a deluge of outrage by people who would instantly be ready to denounce them all for their "ignorance" of what was really happening in their town. Any action by people such as Mendō Shūtarō and Aisuru Satoshi would be seen as the baying of total _**idiots**_ in the face of the fact that _**Moroboshi Ataru**_ had been the clear victim in this case, to say anything of what had happened to the woman who had been made to give the lad his first child. And seeing as how much Ataru's own bond-mates accepted Redet Paishu, especially that busybody Inada...!

« _ **Mujaki.**_ »

Mujaki awked on hearing that cold voice echo in his mind.

« _ **Cease now. Ataru is not in the mood for mercy.**_ »

As the warning of the Earth Angel echoed in the dream master's mind, he snorted as he turned away.

« _ **Nor is Keiseri.**_ »

That made Mujaki croak as a name that had haunted all of demonkind since the Primordium Age began almost a hundred millennia ago send chills as cold as deepest space through his body before he moved to head off.

« _ **Heed my sister-in-law's warning, daēva! Or I will summon the doughty Baku here to feast on everything you've tried to give to the innocents in this town! All your hopes of giving 'good' dreams will be all for naught in the end! Move on from this sad place and bother my beloved and the other people of Tomobiki no more, Mujaki!**_ »

He jolted, then spun around...

...to see Inada Mizuho gazing at him, her blue eyes glowing with the fire of the Te'a Itself.

« _ **Besides...the one you seek to comfort NEVER lived on Earth in the first place. More fool you.**_ »

With a shudder of frustration and terror, the dream demon quickly teleported away...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) As stated several times before, **Seu-Ch'ek Yech'a-Mung Hechnich'-Nakkyek** of Ait'uch Nehech ( **Kaep'** ) is based on the _Koihime Musō_ version of Tōtaku Chūei (Yue), though transformed into a Noukiite (who first appeared in The Senior Year story "Arrive Reiko-chan"). Yue first appeared in the fifth episode of the first season of _KM_ , "Kan'u Exterminates A Monster".

2) The concept of the **House With No Name** was introduced in _Lonely They Who Guard..._ ; no element of _Sailor Moon_ will appear in these stories. As to what race controlled the Sol system after the Goa'uld left, I'll leave it to your imagination.

3) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character notes:

 **Redet Trolok** was originally introduced as a boy in the _TSY_ story "Surprise, Darling! You're A Father!" Given that what befell Paishu here was instigated by a different set of circumstances as in _TSY_ , it made more sense to make the child a girl.

 **Shirai Kōsuke** was a background character in the _Yatsura_ manga series. In effect filling the role of Ataru's best friend in the manga, his character didn't transition at all into the anime series; all the elements of the storyline concerning him pretty much were taken over by Lum's Stormtroopers. He first appeared in the very first manga story, "A Good Catch" (manga chapter #1). Kōsuke did get the chance to finally appear in anime in the most recent OVA, "The Obstacle Course Swim Meet", which was first aired in 2008 as part of the _It's A Rumic World_ thirtieth anniversary celebrations. He also had a bit part to play in the final movie of the series, _The Final Chapter_ ; he wasn't voiced in that story. When I first wrote "Surprise, Darling! You're A Father!", I didn't know much about Kōsuke save his given name; I had him dead by the time of that story due to unknown causes.

The **Shōzoki** were background villains in the first draft of _The Ishinomaki Years_.

 **Chikamatsu Fusae** is my name for the unnamed nurse that appears in the manga story "A Flying Start" (manga chapter #33).

The name I give Megane's mother, **Aisuru Rui** , was first mentioned in the _TSY_ story "The Bodyguards' Denouement".

4) Translation list: **Deutsches Heer** — German Army; **Waffenfarben** — Plural of **waffenfarbe** , which is German for "corps colour", this serves as the equivalent of a Canadian Forces branch-specific hat badge; **Spezialisierte Kriegsfürung** — Specialized Warfare; **Generaloberst** — Literally "colonel general", this is the old German title for a "four star" general (NATO rank code OF-9); **Ḵādima Zarādušt** — Zaraϑuštra's Handmaiden; **Bōko-chan** — Staff girl.

5) The **Orden Pour le Mérite** ("Order For Merit") is one of old Prussia's (and later Imperial Germany's) highest ranking orders of merit to be given to serving soldiers. First established in 1740, it was meant to be given to soldiers who were victorious in battle in the defence of or against a ground fortification. A spray of oak leaves marked a subsequent award. When aerial warfare came into vogue during World War One, the Pour le Mérite was awarded to pilots who shot down at least eight aircraft; doing this made the Pour le Mérite quite well known to the worldwide public. One of this order's most famous recipients was the "Red Baron", **Manfred Albrecht** _ **Freiherr**_ **von Richthofen** (1892-1918). Popularly nicknamed the "Blue Max", the Pour le Mérite ceased to be a military award after the end of the Great War. However, the civilian side of the order remains strong and the Pour le Mérite is awarded to this very day for distinguished service in the sciences, arts and culture. Said award was established in 1842 and became an independent society in the wake of the Great War. One of the recipients of the civilian Pour le Mérite was none other than **Albert Einstein** (1879-1955), who resigned from the order after the Nazis came to power and systematically began removing Jewish people from positions of power.

6) The **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes_ ) were elevated levels of Germany's highest award for military valour in wartime, the **Order of the Iron Cross** ( _Orden des Eisernen Kreuzes_ ), introduced in World War Two. The various versions of the Knight's Cross which were instituted by the Nazi Party leadership in 1939 to mark exceptional acts of bravery that would be seen as going above and beyond what even the normal Iron Cross would represent. Unlike other awards for valour, the rules surrounding the awarding of the Iron Cross was structured to recognize that a winner could engage in further acts of bravery that would win any other soldier an Iron Cross; this is akin to what happens to Victoria Cross winners in the British Commonwealth when they're given an additional bar on their medal ribbon to indicate a subsequent award. Thus, the original Iron Cross as established in 1813 for the Napoleonic Wars and later revived in 1870 (for the Franco-Prussian War) and 1914 (World War One) was awarded in one of two standard degrees, the **Iron Cross Second Class** ( _Eisernes Kreuz zweite Klasse_ ) for the basic first award and the **Iron Cross First Class** ( _Eisernes Kreuz erste Klasse_ ) for exceptional acts of bravery or additional acts of bravery for those awarded the lower class of the Iron Cross...as see the example of **Adolf Hitler** (1889-1945) himself: He was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class in 1914 and was elevated to First Class in 1918.

The Knight's Cross elements of the Iron Cross were ranked as follows from lowest to highest:

 **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes_ ) — First authorized 1 September 1939;

 **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub_ ) — First authorized 3 June 1940;

 **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern_ ) — First authorized 28 September 1941;

 **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten_ ) — First authorized 28 September 1941; and

 **Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds** ( _Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten_ ) — First authorized 29 December 1944.

No matter what one thinks of this particular medal, the Order of the Iron Cross deserves the distinction of being the first top-level award of valour in wartime that was granted without recognition of rank or noble title...and this occurred LONG BEFORE the **Victoria Cross** was instituted in 1856 in the United Kingdom or the **Medal of Honour** was instituted in 1861 in the United States. As it was a wartime order only, no peacetime award of the Iron Cross was permitted.

As an aside, the **Grand Cross of the Iron Cross** ( _Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes_ ) was a special award under the overall umbrella of the Order of the Iron Cross. It was NEVER given for acts of bravery in battle...but to mark victorious generals in the Prussian Army (and later the German Army) as well as senior commanders of allied armies. First instituted in 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars along with the standard Iron Cross, the Grand Cross was awarded to five such generals, including the Prussian commander at the Battle of Waterloo, Field Marshal **Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher,** _ **Fürst**_ **von Wahlstatt** (1742-1819). Brought back in for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Grand Cross was awarded to nine people. Authorized again for the First World War, the Grand Cross was awarded five times, including to future President **Paul von Hindenburg** (1847-1934), who was a field marshal that commanded troops on the Eastern and Western Fronts. The Grand Cross was revived once more for the Second World War, but only awarded once, to the leader of the Luftwaffe, **Hermann Göring** (1893-1946).

A final note about the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross and how such were displayed on uniforms: Winners of the latter award would have to have been awarded the former award in both the 2nd and 1st class before getting the "tin necktie" (as the Knight's Cross was derisively nicknamed by German soldiers). To that end, when people were elevated from the 2nd Class to the 1st Class in the Order of the Iron Cross, the ribbon of the 2nd class was wrapped around the breast-level button of the jacket at an angle to allow the 1st class medal to be pinned over the left jacket pocket over the heart. The Knight's Cross, as it was a neck order, would be worn separately even if it would be displayed in "undress" fashion at the primary position in a person's "salad bowl" of medals. This is the reason that those elevated to the Knight's Cross always wear TWO versions of the Iron Cross, one over the heart as a pin-on medal and one around the neck suspended by a ribbon.

7) The **Order of the Red Eagle** ( _Roter Adlerorden_ ) was Prussia's second highest order of chivalry. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valour in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements. As with most German (and most other European) orders of its day, the Order of the Red Eagle could only be awarded to commissioned officers or civilians of approximately equivalent status. First established in 1792, the order became effectively defunct with the final collapse of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1918.

8) _Buffy_ character notes: **Anya Jenkins** (AKA **Anyanka** ) first appeared in the third season's ninth episode of _Buffy_ , "The Wish". Her boss, **D'Hoffryn** , first appeared in that season's sixteenth episode, "Doppelgangland" And **Violet Day** (her family name is my invention) first appeared in the seventh season's eleventh episode, "Showtime".

9) _Sekirei_ character note: **Karasuba Romi** (Sekirei #4) is one of the main antagonists of the manga and anime series. One of the first of the flock to be woken after the nest ship was discovered on Kamikura-jima, she was (as noted above) a member of all three incarnations of the Disciplinary Squad. She winged herself on Ichinomiya Natsuo to give her the strength to finally duel Musubi Ayako thanks to the latter having absorbed the life energy of one of Karasuba's old fighting companions, **Yume Saori** (Sekirei #8), who sacrificed her very life to save Musubi when the latter was but a child. Of course, thanks very much to Moroboshi Negako's influence on her life in the universe of this story, Karasuba is more better behaved than the unrepentant killing machine she's shown to be in the manga.

10) I came up with the term **Halet'nou** to serve as the Goa'uld nickname for sekirei. It effectively means "bird demon".


	7. A Beacon for Reunions

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** _ **Copyright Act**_ **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Toranoseishin Tower, an hour before midnight...**_

"I cannot begin to thank you all for this."

"Please don't thank us, Syl-sama," Manabe Tamako said as she sat atop her desk in her private office close to Yumoa Reigi's top floor suite. As she reached over to gently grasp her new lover's hand, she then gazed reverently at the woman who, in her first life, was Aruka Insa's (in)famous ancestor, the woman who provoked the Union Revolution around the time the French Revolution began on Earth. "Seeing as how you were all programmed after you were reborn, it's a miracle in and of itself that there were so many of you who would have gladly supported liberating your cousins once my people began enslaving them."

The woman designated Daishi'cha #76073 on Sagussa and known in her first life as Aruka Syl could only smile as she allowed the Te'a to flood her new body's mind and energize her soul to engage the abilities cruelly stripped from her years before when Scalphunter killed her old body, forcing her soul to be shifted to her companion gynoid replica so she could live and fight on. Like those of her birth race, she had the tapered ears and the fanged canines that would make many Terrans think "vampire" when they met her. Her raven black hair was styled in a mannish taper at the back of her neck, a flowing bang nearly covering her forehead. Smoky brown eyes peeked out of a face full of intelligence and sophisticated charm; thinking of what this woman had done in her first life when she began the movement that would topple the Urusian Empire, the former leader of the Maidens of the People's Voice could only guess how easy it was for such a person to win the support of many on that planet despite the harsh social divisions that ensured the Imperial Houses stayed in power even after the Yizibajohei's brutal "Mother of All Fight Scenes" saw millions die thanks to famine five decades before the Revolution. That intelligence had been easily carried over to the Seishin-turned-Sagussan's new life as a Pathfinder, a naval infantry officer who performed duties similar to what the American Navy SEALs, the British Army's Special Air Service and the Russian armed forces' Specnáz did.

Much to the surprise of the woman who dedicated her whole life in the service of the man Syl saw now as her first Daimon'cha and first Daite'cha, the form-fitting jumpsuits normally worn by the Daishi'cha had been abandoned by all defence personnel. Seeing how much the Undying Lord had influenced Sagussa's small corps of warriors, Tamako could only smile in appreciation. The basic colours from what she had seen of pictures sent over by Moroboshi Negako during the ninjutsu grandmaster's visit to the Eliminator were the same: Dark blue with blood red trim, pant colours varying depending on individual type of service. As a Pathfinder, Syl wore charcoal green pants, though her current model of "relaxed duty dress" was inspired by what German soldiers wore during the Second World War. The uniform was of the same cut of battledress Luftwaffe fallschirmjäger used during that conflict, though the knochensack-style jacket was a dark navy blue in shade and the field pants charcoal green; the latter were bloused in low-heel red buccaneer boots, the only element of Sylia's old duty uniform to transition over. The jacket was wrapped around a turtleneck sweater in red. The jacket's upper arms had the Sagussan ascending windrider insignia other Daishi'cha wore on their fronts; on standard jumpsuits, they always framed bare skin and exposed all the cleavage in the world. On Syl's shoulders were her rank insignia of squadron commander, two green rectangular bars shaped like the badges of an American army captain, they on blue epaulettes trimmed in green, styled like German Army _waffenfarben_. She had dark green cuff bands with **PATHFINDER TROOP SIX** written in dark blue Sagussan characters on her lower arms.

"Hopefully, our sisters elsewhere will realize it," Insa then added as she gave her adopted relative a respectful look. While the original Aruka Insa had always been ashamed of Syl's rebellious actions two centuries ago that had caused the Imperial Houses to lose so much prestige and power, the gynoid-turned-bioroid version of the conservative infonet broadcaster had no choice but to see Aruka Syl as one of the most brave people in the Universe, both in her first life and her current one. "Then again, given that the _haijo-ju_ are in the hands of Mizuho-sama, Tamako's daughter and her friends, I doubt the hotheads on the bioroid factory would be able to do a thing if they moved to stop us from getting replacement bodies for the Maidens who lost theirs fighting that creature, to say anything of those people who held the line until Taserich-sama got to you."

Syl nodded before she gazed out at the surrounding cityscape. "The Thoughtmaster-prime has been so nice to all of us since he came to help us. All that was done now was in repayment for what Head Scientist Gihan did for him when he visited Earth millennia ago to investigate the old legends of Toghmoghbiki." As the others gaped in shock on hearing that, the leader of Pathfinder Troop Six sighed. "I've no idea what that was all about; we've never pressed him on that particular issue."

"Taserich-sama actually visited _**Sagussa**_?!" Insa gasped.

A shrug answered her. "I can't say either which way."

"Hey, Eoao!"

A side door opened, revealing the five other members of Pathfinder Troop Six. "Feeling better now, girls?" Syl then asked.

"More than better!" Gilpizra of Falcros, Daishi'cha #22860 and Givpizra's lover in their first life, said with a smirk as she flashed a thumbs up to her commander. The master chief petty officer was Yehisrite and a Pirpirsiw'r; the tattoo on her cheek exactly mirrored that of the woman who effectively helped saved their lives from Karmalibra years before. She had the swarthy bronze skin most human natives of the hearth world of the Royal Kingdoms possessed, her face pierced by a pair of dark chestnut eyes and her head framed by well-styled brown hair combed in a bob over her forehead and flowing in wavy bangs to mid-back. Marking her rank in the Pathfinder Corps of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa were four square green tabs in a stack on her shoulders; like her direct boss, the minstrel-turned-special warfare operator was currently in the new relaxed work dress of the Sagussan Navy. "You should have seen these two," she then said as she thumbed two of the chief petty officers who had come into the office with her. "Instant they went through their Awakening, they bonded!"

Syl's eyes fixed on her team's communications and demolitions chiefs. The former had been Chianne du Maratok from planet Elle; she had been designated Daishi'cha #88576 on her rebirth over a century ago. A woman with rose-red hair on her head, she was physically eighteen, her face pierced by wide, expressive green eyes. The latter was Muzuka Irando of Fukunokami, reborn as Daishi'cha #53091 nearly five centuries ago. She was a taller woman with a dancer's body, her raven hair styled in a left-side bobcut that left her ears masked and was cut square at mid-neck, a pair of blue eyes peeking out of a face full of mischievousness. "You started that up as soon as Ataru-sama left us!" the reborn freedom fighter from Uru breathed out, her concern at two of her warriors being bonded to each other quite obvious to couple in question. "Don't you think...?"

"We've always loved each other even when we didn't understand love, Eoao!" Chianne protested as she reached over to gently grasp Irando's hand. "The idea of bonding to someone who's not Uiii-vayae really isn't logical to me!"

Tamako nearly collapsed in a heap of laughter on hearing that rather interesting confession from the reborn Visionary; they were elite information hackers from across known space who had the skills to break into other cultures' communications and data networks to exchange information with such élan, even planetary intelligence forces were left in the dust. "Besides, are we going to be doing our duties now that we don't have a home, Eoao?" Irando wondered. "I agreed with the Thoughtmaster-prime concerning using that genesis bomb to destroy Karmalibra. But given how antsy many Avalonians are around us..."

"Well, that won't happen here, Irando-sama," Tamako instantly assured the former space pirate from the colony world of Oyatsui; Irando had died in a botched raid on a cargo ship when she was ambushed by government authorities. "Even if this place sounds like the source-point of all evil in your predecessors' legends, those of your adopted sisters living here were all well-treated by their masters before the Noukiites came to take them to Hichkyech'eng or Tengsei. All the doubters would have to do is probe into your minds to see how those memory-copies of the people who went through the Clone Rights War came to view that time to understand why you were so adamant on leaving the factory alone all these years."

"There are always hotheads no matter where you go," Aruka Asuka of Uru then noted. A flame-haired Oni by birth, she was a former girlfriend of Redet Lum's own great-grandfather Redet Traveller; they had been a very close couple until she died of Hifuto viral poisoning nearly a century ago. Reborn as Daishi'cha #95143, the older teenager who served as Troop Six's reconnaissance expert and forward scout had a very slender body, which was typical of her birth race given their shared ability to fly. Her face still had a touch of child fat on it, that pierced by very intelligent blue eyes. Her hair was styled in shaggy bangs over her forehead and combed straight to the level of her waist, her golden cartilage horn-buds sticking out of the back of her temples. While she was currently single, the intensive glances the chief petty officer was giving the last of their sextet was a clear beacon to all that she wanted desperately to bond to the troop's resident sniper/medic.

Syl's eyebrow twitched. "Uoui...!"

"Oh, Sylia! Stop being a worry wort!" Asuka gently scolded before she walked over to hug the silver-haired tomboyish Neptunian-turned-Sagussan who assumed a sort of protective guard position by the windows. Much to the reborn freedom fighter's annoyance, the former priestess of Kōri City's Temple of the Maidens — in effect, it was Triton's shrine to what the Gatherer had done over a millennia ago to save the Neptunian people from extinction — didn't resist. "Eh, Rei-vayae..."

"We still have to seek Ataru's permission to make use of those names, Asuka-vayae," Lilon Darmajo gently said in her normal quiet voice as she reached up to gently stroke the Oni-turned-Sagussan's chin, her smoky crimson eyes gazing intently into the other woman's bright blue orbs. As Chianne and Irando both beamed at the sight of their team scout and team sniper clearly intending to pursue the other romantically, Syl rolled her eyes as Gilpizra shook her head in amusement at their antics. Like all Neptunians, Lilon didn't have a family or clan name _per se_ ; the old Seifukusu names forced on her people during the time Neptune was a slave world of the Dominion had been rejected outright and the natives of that planet had elected to see themselves as one large family, using patronymics instead as most natives of Iceland did. Like Aruka, Lilon was a woman in her mid-teens physically, possessing a slender body with perky breasts under her duty uniform. She was naturally pale as all Neptunians were, but there was a storm of passion etched on her face, which would make her quite different from the likes of Oyuki or her Avalonian clone-twin Mienai, much less their cousin Pukaze. Reborn as Daishi'cha #10272, Lilon had become a Pathfinder officer; she was rated a troop commander in rank, signified by a single green bar on her shoulders. Fortunately for her, a relationship with a non-commissioned officer in the Sagussan armed forces wouldn't be frowned upon...

...though Syl clearly had issues with it.

"We gotta get you a bond-mate, Sylia!"

That was Gilpizra. "Eiei!" Syl snapped. "We've no right..."

"Yeah! Yeah! We weren't given proper names by Ataru when he visited us and he was always willing to use the first two digits of our sequential numbers when he talked to any of us! But you have to admit, the parallels between our timeline and the timeline that warped version of Ataru's old girlfriend came from are pretty scary to look at!" The former bard then shrugged. "I just want to know where the name 'Priss' came from, like we all do! What's so wrong with that, Sylia?!"

"What do you mean, Gilpizra-sama?" Tamako asked.

The Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan sighed before a shrug rolled her shoulders. "When she came and fought us, Miyake always called us by these odd names." She indicated each person of her team, then pointed to herself. "Sylia. Rei. Asuka. Linna. Néne. Priss for myself. We never got the explanation why, though. Because we decided all along to hold off on changing from our sequential numbers to names until we got Daimon'cha to mate with, we always use the first two or three digits in our sequential numbers as a sort of nickname. Ataru went along with that during his visit. I have to admit, I really don't remember much about my first life. When people call me 'Gilpizra', I feel like they're talking about someone else. Eh, girls?"

"Agreed," Lilon stated. "I could tell through that creature that other version of Ataru always liked calling me 'Rei' after they reunited in the wake of his leaving high school finally. It sounded more natural than using 'Oae-ei' all the time. But I would like to know how that came about. We never got the explanation and neither Shinobu nor Karmalibra cared to say more on that, even when Shinobu was finally killed off and Karmalibra was at the Thoughtmaster-prime's mercy."

"He has _**mercy**_?!" Chianne mock-gasped.

Everyone then tensed on sensing someone approach. "Come!" Tamako called out.

The door opened. "Hey, Oba-chan!"

"Tariko!" Tamako called out...

...before she and Insa jolted on hearing six gasps of shocked and stunned recognition from the reborn warrior-maidens standing in her office just as Moroboshi Tariko walked into full view. That made Ataru's twin stop in confusion as she noted who was there, then she sighed. "Damn! Some of our new arrivals from Sagussa, huh?!"

"Oh, Lyna have mercy...!"

That was a white-faced Syl. "What...?" Tariko said as she looked at her...

...then she blinked as the barest ghost of a memory seemed to surge up from deep within her heart. "Eoao...?" she hissed out, shaking her head as she tried to force those fractured memories to come back to the surface.

Syl turned white as the others of her team gaped in shock, though many appeared ready to cry on sensing what happened to this half of the sweet boy who had done so much for them over a decade before. "H-hai, Ata-..." She caught herself. "H-hai, Tariko-sama!" she then breathed out, her cheeks then turning as red as cherries as she felt her own body react to the other woman's obvious interest in her; even if she was bonded to two people — the Sagussans could sense that right away — Tariko was still a teenager and there had never been an ugly Daishi'cha ever found by the Gatherer in his ten millennia-long mission.

The others all gazed hopefully at her as Tariko took a moment to gaze intently upon the sextet of beautiful women in their military uniforms. Moving to Gilpizra first, Ataru's twin to look deeply into the former bard's eyes for a moment, then she reached up to touch the Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan's face. The master chief petty officer of Troop Six immediately forced up her most precious memory of the nearly two months that Ataru had spent on Sagussa so that Tariko could see it for herself. That made the younger girl tense for a second, then she blinked as her eyes misted over. "Did you get her back, Ei-chan...?"

Gilpizra shuddered. "We planned to," she declared. "Sadly, we got attacked just a couple days after our bonds to you were shattered because of this 'promise' thing you got tricked into making. But...the last Infinity found their capsules, restored them to life and brought them to Sagussa. They were the ones who saved us from Karmalibra and that version of your bond-mate..."

"You're BOND-MATES to _**Miyake Shinobu**_?!" Chianne screeched, her eyes wide with outraged horror.

Tariko's eyes instantly fixed on the Ellsian-turned-Sagussan computer hacker, making the rose-haired woman awk in fright as a flash of outrage filled those dark brown orbs. "Don't you DARE...!" the former hissed out.

 _ **«Tariko, cease that,»**_ a neutral woman's voice then echoed through their minds, making Insa and Tamako wince as the Sagussans croaked on sensing the power behind whoever was now communicating with them. _**«Néne does not understand the woman you are bonded to is more confidant in herself than the woman who attacked the Daishi'cha after your visit to Sagussa. Throughout her life, that version of Shinobu deluded herself into believing she had every right to dictate things to her version of Ataru.»**_ Tariko winced, sensing the gasp from her own lover (who was now at her family home just to the south of the Moroboshi property) on overhearing that cold and critical analysis from Moroboshi Negako. _**«When that Shinobu's children died after volunteering to assist Noa in a mission, her demands to have Noa punished for something she ultimately had no control over saw a final break between her and that Ataru, thus allowing Karmalibra to seize control of her mind and transforming her into what our guests now know as 'Scalphunter'. It was only by the interference of Whistler that saw Scalphunter brought to our dimension and timeline to be destroyed by Josef.»**_

"Whistler?! Wasn't he that idiot serving the 'powers that be' that made Angel-san go help Buffy deal with the Hellmouth?!"

 _ **«The same.»**_

"Who is this Whistler, Negako-sama?" Syl then coldly demanded.

 _ **«A being who was born from a more neutrally-aligned demon and a member of the race of omnipotent beings calling themselves the 'Powers That Be', Sylia,»**_ Negako explained. _**«They see themselves as the spiritual counterbalance to the original generation of demons who inhabited Earth from the destruction of Toghmoghbiki to the time Vladímir became the planet's Praetorian Guardian and Josef was empowered to become master of the ebony version of mesonium. They were humanoids, usually born of the then-existing versions of humanity alive at the time, who were empowered by the back-scatter of the energy released by Atar in the destruction of Toghmoghbiki, then moved to try to offset the influence of the Old Ones. Given that the ultimate source of their power was the same, they were not successful.»**_

"So why send this Chaos-cursed thing OUR way, Negako?!" Gilpizra snarled, her burning eyes flashing dangerously. "Is he still alive?! He's got fucking guts to do that to US out of some weird hope that we could have taken that thing down!"

 _ **«Whistler is no more, Priscilla,»**_ Negako assured her, making the former bard gape at the name she was just addressed by. _**«He sacrificed himself five years ago when he realized his obsession with 'cosmic balance' had become as skewered over the ages as what clearly had occurred to Karmalibra before it transitioned to this reality. As for the other Powers That Be, I have made it very clear whenever I have sensed their desire to enforce some influence on Avalonians here on Earth that their continued interference in people's lives will not be tolerated. Even if they see themselves as 'good', their actions in recent years have not earned them the respect of the REAL powers on this planet.»**_

"Why didn't your Praetorian just go and kill them all?" Asuka demanded.

 _ **«They were born on Earth, Asuka. Vladímir's oaths forbid him from doing such.»**_

 _ **«I am not bound to such an oath, Lady Asuka,»**_ a new voice spoke up, making the Daishi'cha gasp on recognizing the heiress of the Staff of Gihan. _**«Fret not about those lazy creatures anymore. That the late Master Tami was able to alert Lord Josef about your plight and none of you were lost in the battle with this daēva that freed you of the curse of your old lives should be more than enough to allow you to face a brighter future together as the Wise Lord would so desire of His children of Sagussa. These 'powers that be' see themselves as poor versions of the great Lord Rjazán'. To my knowledge, they have done NOTHING themselves to fight the influence of the many daēva who seek to infiltrate this dimension from their own dark realms. Despite their professed desire to protect aša, their inactions speak much louder than their words. If they dare try to harm any of the blood of Sagussa, I will deal with them quite permanently.»**_

"Just what we need to see," Tariko quipped as she shook her head, reaching up to rub her forehead. "So-called 'gods' getting their asses kicked by a mere 'mortal' girl, even if she is powered by the Veil of Eternity Itself."

 _ **«Which is why Karmalibra and those like it sought to destroy the Daishi'cha, Tariko. And most likely would have destroyed the Avalonians if it got the chance,»**_ Negako then wryly noted. _**«Even for Terran-borns such as yourself, your belief structure is now strongly influenced by the sense of the Te'a you possess within your mind as you first gained upon your Awakening. Because the Te'a is the very energy that reflects the very birth of the Multiverse, it is the one supreme 'deity' that would be common throughout all of Existence. Beings such as the Old Ones and the Powers That Be would LOSE power if people turned away from acknowledging their influence on mortal affairs.»**_

"Like the fucking Goa'uld, you mean!"

 _ **«The same concept.»**_

"Joy...!"

"Negako, may I ask a question?"

 _ **«Ask, Rei.»**_

Eyes locked on the sniper of Troop Six. "Why address us by the names Karmalibra knew us by?" Lilon asked.

People could sense the smile in the ninjutsu grandmaster's voice. _**«Since you have endured your 're-Awakening', Rei, come visit the house. Ataru would like to meet you. The explanation will be given to you then. You as well, Tariko.»**_

"I hope I don't act like an idiot in front of Ataru's bond-mates," Tariko moaned.

"You've got us, Tariko-sama!" Chianne/Néne then teasingly noted.

As Ataru's twin flustered, Tamako and Insa both gave her sympathetic looks...

* * *

 _ **The Moroboshi home, Wednesday 21 July, after midnight...**_

"So our counterparts were named after anime and manga characters?"

Moroboshi Ataru nodded. The members of Pathfinder Troop Six and the eldest member of his would-be lovers among the Maidens of the People's Voice and the gynoids that had protected Renning Shunran and Renning Mayhan were seated in the recreation room close to his bedroom, along with many of the Shiroiwa and Kōbe students. Naturally, both Inada Mizuho and Noda Satomi were seated to either side of their lover. Tariko was also flanked by Miyake Shinobu; much to the latter's surprise, the six Daishi'cha hadn't really reacted when they had met her moments before. "Most likely," Ataru admitted as he tried not to flush too much at the looks being sent his way by the girls who had served as several of his primary companions during that almost-forgotten trip to his adopted homeworld over a decade before. "Your physical resemblance to those characters is really ironic, so I guess the other me must have found it easy to call the other versions of all of you by those names in lieu of your sequential numbers. Since you really don't see yourselves as what you were back on your old home worlds, what's the sense of using your old names? Kinshō doesn't remember her old name whatsoever."

The sextet of Daishi'cha nodded. "Man alive, Ataru!" Sasagawa Ryūhei then noted. "If the idiots in this town saw you hanging out with babes like this, there would be no way in hell that they'd ever want to understand what's going on!"

"Yeah! If we didn't have girls ourselves, we'd be begging you to share these babes with us!" Numai Mitsuru added as he gently embraced his own lover from Ziegler's Cove, Shibata Yōko, closer to her. After they shared a warm kiss, the coquettish yet shy brunette born as Korash dai-Sayos moved to snuggle against him, earning her envious looks from those of her friends who hadn't been able to restart potential relationships with the Shiroiwa boys they had become close to.

Amused laughter filled the room. "It's rather strange that you girls were all made as you were, yet there weren't boys made to be your husbands and the father of your children," Harry Hunter then noted. All the members of the Anderson County Amazons who had been patrolling Tomobiki in the last couple of weeks were also at this meeting. "Why is that?"

"Well, on Sagussa, our legends stated that woman was made first," Lilon noted. Given her close resemblance to the Angel/human clone bioroid teenager who had been created ultimately to help in the launching of Third Impact in _Shin Seiki Evangelion_ , she had been pleased to accept the new Earth name "Ayanami Rei"; thanks to her ancestry, she looked as if she could easily be that person's twin. "Much that certain aspects of the Grand Design really don't make sense now, that was seen as vital given how things went out of control in the last years of the Fourth Republic before the Clone Rights War began."

"How did you die, Lieutenant Rei?"

That was a worried-looking Annabelle Maxwell, who was not reacting to the fact that Sakaki Yūko was tightly squeezing her hand. Rei gave her a wan smile. "According to Henry, I sacrificed myself to become a Daishi'cha." As the South Carolinians all gasped in horror on hearing that, the Troop's sniper added, "In my first life, I served as a temple maiden at the special memorial my birth race erected in Kōri City to the Gatherer in thanks for what Henry did to save the Neptunian people when they were forced to migrate to Triton because of environmental issues that made Neptune uninhabitable. Until very recently, it was seen as proper for single girls to do that if they found themselves no longer desiring to live among their birth people." She shook her head. "I barely remember elements of my first life; it's just like what happened to Ataru when Thoughtmistress-prime Negako's mei'na was placed in his mind and his soul fracture to make Tariko her own being. As to why...!"

"All ultimately unleashed by my own ancestors," Redet Paishu said as she shook her head. She was currently nursing her daughter, though several of the Kōbe girls were seated close to her as they fawned over the beautiful Trolok. The mage's daughter's ladies-in-waiting were currently using one of J.S. _Yamato_ 's Star Flare warp shuttles to head out to Cygni 61 and retrieve all of Paishu's and their belongings from Redet Trosan's flagship to move back into their new rooms here.

"I'm sure our cousins and the Noukiites would be able to see Neptune restored to proper health soon enough," Syl stated as she gave Paishu a reassuring look; she now called herself "Sylia Stingray" in honour of the leader of the Knight Sabres from _Bubblegum Crisis_. "Given the Thoughtmaster-prime is making your brother see the many virtues of withdrawing from the worlds once held by the House With No Name so the Terrans and Avalonians could settle those worlds, we'll all soon have the industrial support base necessary to help progress technology to the point where we wouldn't have to use genesis bombs."

"Would you all resettle on Sagussa now that it has been cleansed of Karmalibra's influence, Sylia-san?" Kiriyama Kazuo asked.

She sighed. "I don't know, Kazuo-san. On the one hand, I'm still compelled to serve in the Grand Design and protect the planet. But after the damage was done by that entity, it was only logical to make use of a genesis bomb to destroy it and ensure that life could be restored." She gave Shinobu a reassuring look, which made Tariko's bond-mate perk as she noted that. "Why Thoughtmistress-prime Yura did what she did, we can never answer. Unlike what happened to us, her own memories were never passed on to a Daishi'cha, not even Yoakenikkō." That was the adopted name of the Vosian-turned-Sagussan who was Daishi'cha #1, a being almost as old as the Grand Design itself. "On the other hand, now that I don't have to worry about fighting for my life and freedom, the idea of settling on a planet other than Sagussa doesn't sound so scary to me. Unlike several people I know, I'm not bonded, so I still have to consider getting a marei'cha before I could even think of starting a family." She gazed then on the Amazons. "That ensures I would have support if I ever came to be in the family way."

"Well, if that's the way you folk do it, we can't object, Captain Sylia," Harry Hunter noted. "Still sounds pretty darn weird to us, but if that's your way, that's your way." She then flustered on sensing their eyes fall on her, even the "married" ones such as Rei as well as the newly-renamed Néne Románova (born Chianne du Maratok), Yamazaki Linna (Muzuka Irando) and Asuka Langley (Aruka Asuka). "Um...!" the tavern owner's daughter from Iva sputtered.

The reborn Pirpirsiw'r known once as Gilpizra and now calling herself "Asagiri Priscilla" — "Priss" to friends — smirked. "Relax, Harry. People on my planet wouldn't be able to ignore a pretty girl like you. We're not so hung up on sex like you folks were when you were fighting to get your home state free of Washington. We won't think any less of you if you got curious."

"Holy Hannah! Sensible people!" Tabitha Walters then called out.

"Tabitha! Don't encourage them!" Belle instantly scolded.

More laughter filled the room, then footfalls echoed from the direction of the dōjō. "So what's the plan now, Onē-san?" Tariko asked as Negako and her lover stepped into the room, moving to sit at the head of the rows of couches and love seats that had been scattered around the largest space of the expanded Moroboshi home. "Can we fit Sylia-chan and her friends here?"

"Indeed we can," the ninjutsu grandmaster stated with a curt nod. "Given their emotional need now to restore themselves to a sense of internal balance, plus finally wean themselves of such emotional dependency on both yourself and Ataru, it would be prudent that they take up quarters in that section of the building." Here, she indicated the rooms placed on the site of the former house that had sat across the street from the original Moroboshi home. "It places them close to your bedrooms in case they need to be comforted and would allow them to sleep close to each other. To make room for those who will have to shift over, Reigi is now moving to secure the properties between Kita-Teibō 3-dōri and Kita-Teibō 2-dōri between Nishi-Teibō 8-dōri and Nishi-Teibō 11-dōri. When the announcement is made later today, we will make it clear that we are doing this in preparation of bringing the Ritsurin girls back to life and health, then giving them a place they can settle into."

"Are you sure the creatures from other dimensions will not be able to penetrate the defences of the house Mizuho and the others placed on it, Thoughtmistress-prime?" Sylia then asked as she gave the other woman a wary look.

A slight twitch appeared on Negako's forehead at being called THAT, though she does not retort with her normal "Do not call me that" comment. "They are, Sylia. It takes a remarkable breed of yōkai or other being to live in such a place due to the higher levels of ambient background magic thanks to what those forces seeking to contain Hensō and her friends did to prevent any overt act of xenophobia from bringing harm to anyone in Tomobiki. Furthermore, the deaths of Tiernan and his companions would be sensed by high-level demons across the planet. Those who have access to the Internet would be able to interpret what happened even if the Kantō Magical Association moved to censor certain aspects of news reports to prevent those rhabdophobes who might fear the existence of magical beings from launching new 'scourer' movements to provoke a modern version of the Salem witch trials. Given the involvement of isolationists among the pureblood magicals in America in the attempts to kill Annabelle and her friends, it would be ironic if rhabdophobic organizations were to arise here in Japan."

"You people were better off not having that stupid secrecy statute in the first place," Priss then noted before sipping the cup of tea that had been prepared for her by Kitano Yukiko. "It's caused nothing but headaches for everyone involved."

"That is something I have long argued, Priscilla."

People's heads shook in amusement. "Well, we might as well get stuff shifted around so that Syl and her friends can crash out. It's been a long day for them," Shimizu Hirono noted. "You mind if we crashed with you and Tabi, Mitsu?"

"I'm okay with it," Sōma Mitsuko stated as Tabitha nodded.

People sighed as they rose...

* * *

 _ **A half-hour later...**_

"This is rather...strange. We normally sleep in the nude."

Sylia was trying not to blush at the image she was seeing in the vanity mirror placed in the single person's room closest to Ataru's bedroom, which had been used by Yahagi Yoshimi the previous evening. She was now dressed in one of Mitsuko's spare sleep shirts, though she didn't wear any panties. Seated nearby were Tariko and Shinobu, both of whom were blushing at the sight of such a virtual supermodel so provocatively dressed. The former was dressed in a very beautiful poet chemise in white while the latter was in normal pyjamas. "Well, I did that at first, mostly when I was sleeping on the bioroid factory after the Liberation when we were helping people get over the PTSD everyone suffered from having those loyalty locks removed," Tariko admitted. "But even if it felt nice just to have the covers and blankets touching me everywhere, Baka Kā-san would have hit the roof if I paraded around in the buff in front of her husband." As Sylia shook her head, then moved to button herself up, Ataru's twin added, "Only time I'm in the buff is when I've got my two lovely ladies in bed with me."

She kissed Shinobu tenderly on the lips, making the latter moan in delight. "So when will we be able to meet your other Other, Tariko-sama?" Sylia then teased as she moved to sit down on the bed beside this version of her Daite'cha.

"Kanami will be here soon," Shinobu assured the leader of Troop Six. "She wants to spend time with her great-grandfather in America. She never met the man either as herself or as Ranma-kun before he was hurt by Shampoo-san."

"Thoughtmaster-prime Indiana Jones, was it?"

"The same person. You knew of him on Sagussa?"

"We monitored things on Earth thanks to Rover units sent out to scout for potential new Daishi'cha," Sylia noted with a nod before she reached over for her cup of tea. "They had the ability to probe people's minds when needed even from a distance. And your radio transmissions were easy to detect and interpret when the Rovers got close to the edge of your atmosphere to listen in. Thoughtmaster-prime Jones' actions in the early part of his career is well-known to all of us."

"Why do you like me?"

Sylia gazed on Shinobu, then she smiled as she reached over to gently grasp the other woman's hand, making Tariko's bond-mate blush even if she sensed that the Sagussan's own mind-shields were up and preventing her own powers from probing into her to see the exact memories of what had happened over the last decade. "You are much better than that other version of you that came back in time to kill us," the leader of Pathfinder Troop Six said. "That version of you never got over her many insecurities, much less never learned that her worldview wasn't seen as acceptable on Sagussa or even with her Ataru. In that universe, our Elder Mother bonded Ataru and Lum together as marei'cha when they were children, after an accident brought Lum to Sendai from Triton when Ataru was visiting his uncle. Because of that, your other-self blamed Noa for 'taking' Ataru away from her. That always haunted her right to the moment she lost her children. Who, by the way, volunteered to help Noa deal with that threat that had to be confronted. They were full adults at the time it happened; they had the knowledge and the maturity to make such a choice. That she didn't accept that and allowed herself to let her anger take over her..."

"God!" Shinobu hissed out. Even if she couldn't see the exact memories of what had happened to this other version of her, from what Sylia had sensed from Scalphunter, it had been ugly. "How could she have fallen so badly...?"

Tariko hummed. "Hey, Sylia, did the people of that Tomobiki ever see Ataru become the Cyborg or something like that? When he did something that rattled their cages so badly, they knew then that they couldn't keep things the same way they had become after Hensō or Lum or whoever the hell it was that came to be his 'wife'?"

"It was Lum," the pathfinder affirmed with a nod. "And yes, something did happen in that Ataru's senior year of high school. The 'Spirit War in Tomobiki', it was called. It wasn't really bad, but that Shinobu and her classmates confronted a very dark creature — a version of Thoughtmistress-prime Negako, possibly? — that attacked them directly for their support of Lum's continued pursuit of Ataru. Ataru did have his link to the Master of Entropy at that time. There were no fatalities..."

"There's the difference," Ataru's twin noted. "Back in March, the pirates of Konton came here to kidnap Avalonians to have slaves. Over a thousand of the bastards were able to come into Tomobiki itself. Ataru went after them as the Cyborg and slaughtered the whole lot." As Shinobu paled considerably as she recalled that blood-soaked night, Tariko sighed. "That other Ataru must have been able to control himself. By the time my brother had been forced to face the pirates, he had been at the Battle of Morningstar Plain and the Liberation. He was too used to killing. Shinobu and the others...didn't take it well."

"Especially with how he can so easily mask his emotions because of the way his face changes when he becomes that thing!" Shinobu hissed out, then she gasped as Sylia surged up and moved to embrace her. "Sylia-san...!"

A warm kiss cut off her protest, making Shinobu's eyes go wide until she shuddered as a powerful wave of love, comfort and support then surged through her body. Her eyes softened at such an act, then she gently pulled the Seishin-turned-Sagussan naval infantry officer closer to her as their kiss deepened. Tariko gazed at this, a touch of jealously flooding her for a second until she sensed Sylia's true intentions for Shinobu, then she moved to hug her lover from behind...

* * *

 _ **An hour after dawn...**_

"Feel better now, Priss?"

Priss perked on hearing that wonderful voice, then she smiled as she held out an arm. "See it happened to you, too, Sylvie."

Chuckling, the woman born as Givpizra of Falcros many centuries before came over to slide herself up against her lover. Like the woman now calling herself "Asagiri Priss", the raven-haired Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan was in the new field uniform of the defence forces of the Fifth Republic, the three green square tabs of a chief petty officer on her shoulder epaulettes. As they shared a deep kiss, the elder of the two Pirpirsiw'r gave her a knowing look. "Who gave it to you?"

The woman now calling herself "Sylvie Terreblanche" smiled. "Got it from a fan fiction story based on _Bubblegum Crisis_ written some years ago. The other version of me was adopted by a businessman from South Africa and the writer made use of that name. 'White Earth' is what it translates to, I think." She then sighed. "Strange. Even if it hasn't clicked in with us as it did with Linna and Néne, much less Asuka and Rei, I still see you as my eternal lover. Why is that, Priss?"

"We're effectively of the same blood. I'd be comfortable doing the _tamgh va ragh_ with any of the others with us." Priss then smiled. "We were made to serve, Syl. Even now in our new lives as two of the Maidens of the Soultaker, we serve."

"I will live and die by your side, Priss..."

Both then tensed on hearing a sniffle from nearby. They had been standing by the main door to the Moroboshi dōjō . Looking to Priss' right, they then watched as darkness seemed to shift before it transformed into a wide-eyed teenager in the grey-and-butternut of the Confederate States Army. "That's so romantic...!" a teary-eyed Harry Hunter said as she tried not to blush too much after overhearing such passionate words from these two great warriors of another world.

"Hey, Harry," Priss said as she offered her free arm to welcome the younger girl closer to her. That made the tavern owner's daughter blush before she walked over to allow the older woman to gently draw her into her arm. They gazed into the other woman's eyes, then Priss leaned in to tenderly kiss Harry's cheek. "You don't need to be scared of us, Harry."

"You're too kind, Miss Priscilla," Harry said as she gazed in appreciation at the Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan. "I guess you can appreciate what's happened to all of us. We literally died, got turned into vampires, died again, then got turned into war golems. You died defending your friends, then got reborn as crystal-bloods, then died again when this Satan-spawned demon attacked you all on Sagussa. It was a lucky thing that Marse Josef came along to save you all from that awful critter."

"The Eternal Fates are like that at times," Sylvie stated. "What about you, Harry? Do you want to take the final step to really live again?" She nodded into the dōjō. "Negako got your new body prepared and it's waiting for you."

That made Harry tense before she shuddered as twin surges of compassion and love flooded her from head to toe. It didn't make her feel dizzy or make her lose sense of what she was, not like what nearly happened to Della Burns late on Monday night thanks to that carpetbagger would-be rapist who had been stalking Yashima Yōko for a month or so. Still, the concern both these alien valkyries felt for a simple small antebellum American town girl like her was quite heady. "I still dunno..."

"You've got no problems with Tabitha, Dally, Della or Livia," Priss noted.

The tavern owner's daughter blinked, then she nodded. "Yeah, that's true..."

"And you like all the Shiroiwa and Kōbe kids, don't you?"

That made Harry jolt. "Of course I do! What happened to them was just devilish!"

"Would you ride with them when they go back to their place of birth and raze it down to make sure no more kids die like that?" Sylvie asked. Even if she didn't have a marei'cha bond with her sister minstrel-turned-pathfinder, the former native of Falcros knew what happened to the _Program_ players thanks to Inada Mizuho's visit to the Eliminator the previous afternoon. "After all, even if you were tricked into becoming turned, you did it because you felt your county and state were facing imminent invasion by an evil power. Could you imagine what could happen if the leaders of that 'republic' find out that all the children they slaughtered over fifty-three years were brought back to life and health, then allowed to live in a place of freedom?"

That made Harry shudder. Even if she didn't have the telepathy an Avalonian possessed — as four of her closest friends now had — she did have a damned good idea about what people like Dally Shore's rescuer Chigusa Takako went through; the deacon's daughter from Centerville had been happy to show her friends using her own powers what she had got from the track runner from Shiroiwa about what happened on Oki-shima. Thinking on that, the tavern owner's daughter from Iva then wondered how the hell was it that Takako had been so easy to forgive the man who had tried to violate her on that island, Niida Kazushi. She then blinked as an image of the soccer player came up before her mind's eye. Kazushi had a Niphentaxian-born lover now, Honda Hitomi. Unlike some of the other relationships that had formed between the Shiroiwa boys and their rescuers on that strange "planet of shadows" a month ago, Kazushi and Hitomi were still a couple, madly in love even if they weren't bonded. Atop that, Kazushi also got himself an adopted sister in that group of fishing village children, a lady now calling herself "Niida Ryōmi". Ryōmi had tried to date Motobuchi Kyōichi before she got very sick, then they pulled apart after she recovered, which gave Aisuru Tokiko a chance to properly seek the hand of the prefecture dietman's son...

"Osu...!"

"Ohayō gozaimasu, minna!"

The three girls turned as a smiling raven-haired man with a narrow, hawkish face walked up to the doorway of the dōjō, he holding the hand of a pretty girl with shaggy strawberry blonde hair done up in two stubby ponytails at her temples. The adoring look that the woman born Toros dai-Honsha was now giving Niida Kazushi was as bright as the morning sun, which made Harry smile. Even if the fellow had been fit for the insane asylum when he was on that horrible island, the tall teenager with the broad shoulders and the well-defined muscles under his T-shirt and blue jeans clearly had pulled himself back up a more proper mode of behaviour. While his past attraction to a beautiful woman like Takako was understandable, his guilt over trying to violate and kill her on Oki-shima clearly made him feel ashamed of his actions and had broke him of the arrogance that he had often displayed to his peers before that dark weekend. That he had Hitomi's loving support now...

"Hey, you two," Priss said as she pulled her arms away from Sylvie and Harry, then she walked over to gently tap a couple places on Kazushi's forehead, making him blink. "Relax, Kazu. We Pirpirsiw'r know as much about shiatsu as Negako. It's starting to happen between you. Don't force it to come and it'll make it all the sweeter for you both when it happens, okay?"

That made Kazushi fluster as Hitomi beamed at that assertion. "Now all we have to do is find someone to take Kyōichi-kun's place for Ryōmi-chan!" the fisherman's daughter from Ziegler Cove then noted. "I don't think he's a two-girl guy."

Harry gasped. "Miss Hitomi! Don't say things like that!"

"Why not, Harry-san?!" Hitomi asked. "You don't object to Ataru being together with Mizuho and Satomi, do you?! What's wrong with Kyōichi-kun being marei'cha to both Tokiko-chan and Ryōmi-chan?! That's accepted among us!"

"But still...!"

"Harry, you can't do that to these people, not after what they went through!"

Harry jerked as Priss' and Sylvie's eyes narrowed. "Dang it, Les! It ain't...!"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

Then...

"Leslie...?"

"You got your powers back, Commander?" Priss then asked.

"Thank Lyna I really don't need a wand anymore," that voice said as the air just to the south of the dōjō entrance wavered, melting into the sight of a beautiful Terran woman around the same age as Harry Hunter, her skin the shade of of coffee-with-milk, possessing straight raven-black hair parted over the left eye and flowing straight down to mid-back. Like all people who would have been commonly referred to as "mulatto" back in Harry's day, her face was a beautifully artistic mixture of African and Caucasian in general shape, that pierced with smoky blue-grey eyes that were now fixed on her childhood friend from her first life. Like Priss and Sylvie, the woman reborn as Daishi'cha #86838 during the height of the Civil War was in the new Pathfinder duty uniform, the single green bar of a troop commander in Sagussa's naval infantry on her shoulders, her unit name **PATHFINDER TEAM TWO** on her cuff bands. "Hello, Harry," the woman Harry knew of as "Leslie Erwin" said as she fixed her reborn playmate with a knowing look. "You look well..." A wry smirk crossed her face. "For a golem!"

That made Harry gape at her before she sputtered as she tried not to scream out in horror at the sight of someone she thought she'd never see again in this life. "What the dang hell happened to you?! Last time I saw you was before Fort Sumter!"

"Ilvermorny happened. I got my invite in '59," the reborn alumnus of the Thunderbird House inside America's oldest magical school explained. As Harry gaped — as far as she knew, daywalker vampires under Adam Sewell spent years locating black children born with magic to kill them before they would have been invited to learn how to use their gifts — the woman now calling herself "Leslie Mary Comstock" after a famous Quaker stationmaster on the Underground Railroad shrugged; it had been Abraham Lincoln who proposed the name change. "I was one of the volunteer local guides for the Seventh Cavalry even if I was still a year from taking my graduate's examinations." Hearing that made Harry nod. Leslie's father Joseph was a free descendant of a once-slave volunteer who fought with the famous Patriot partisan leader Benjamin Martin during the American Revolution against the forces of William Tavington and his devil-spawn Green Dragoons; Joseph had worked as a teamster in Iva before the war. "I joined up to find you and your friends, then get you to come north to live in safety and away from Sewell. I knew there was no way that you would have joined something so evil without being tricked by the monsters that egged Jeff Davis and his friends on to break up the Union." She then sighed. "Sadly, we got bushwhacked when we were sleeping near Nashville just before Chattanooga and were drained dry." As Harry gasped while scalding hot thoughts flashed through her mind at the idea of her oldest friend being killed by a vampire, Leslie smirked. "Fortunately, Henry was up in orbit just collecting bodies to put through the regeneration matrix. I was one of the lucky ones who got picked to be a Daishi'cha."

That made the tavern owner's daughter gape. Sylia Stingray had briefed everyone earlier that morning on the general standard required to become a Daishi'cha. The person in question had to be a woman between 14-25 years of age in Terran terms and in good health before first death. The reborn Urusian nobleman's daughter-turned-freedom fighter then wryly added that since the sentience that controlled the Gatherer was male, there was an unspoken beauty standard which was also followed in selecting a Daishi'cha. While most of the people born in the modern age had laughed at such a thing, Harry really didn't get it.

But to see her beloved childhood playmate alive and well...

And even REMEMBERING her...!

Harry then smiled before she walked over to warmly embrace Leslie. As the tavern owner's daughter then broke down and cried at the idea of something beyond the horrible blood of the Late Unpleasantness living within her, the reborn teamster's daughter smiled as she stroked her friend's hair, giving Priss a knowing look. Seeing that, the coxswain of Pathfinder Troop Six nodded while Sylvie, Kazushi and Hitomi all exchanged knowing looks, guessing right away what Leslie had in mind...

* * *

 _ **The main recreation hall, breakfast...**_

"Well, at least you're alive, Leslie," Annabelle Maxwell noted. "Even if it sounds pretty odd that you were literally reborn like you were, then lost your magic when that devil attacked you and your friends, God was looking after you."

Hearing that made Leslie smile. The other nine girls of her fighting troop — all of them Terran-borns hailing from different times in Earth's history — smirked as they exchanged knowing looks. While Harry herself seemed just happy to have her oldest friend alive and well, not to mention here at her side so they could reform their friendship, the other Terran-turned-Sagussan magical naval infantry warriors knew that Leslie had something far more intimate in mind when it came to the tavern owner's daughter from Iva. Of course, given the ultimate loyalty that had seized their hearts after they had been truly woken over a decade ago, all of them were seated close to Ataru and his bond-mates, not to mention his new lover from Dominos. "If the Supreme Being does still exert influence over our lives and fates, Belle, then I am blessed," the teamster's daughter said as she gave the deacon's daughter from Centerville an amused look. "But in the eyes of my adopted people, the Te'a has no master. It will do what It will. Against Its Judgments, there is no appeal whatsoever. That's what saved me."

"Not to mention luck," the team sergeant of "G" (Magical) Troop within Pathfinder Team Two then added. Physically the oldest of her fighting team at about twenty-two years in Terran terms, Sibilla Lucchesi had been a student of traditional pre-Roman wandless magic in the Republic of Lucca between Genoa and Tuscany during the Twelfth Century. She had been eventually arrested by local magical law enforcement answering to the authorities of the Magical Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, then accused of acts of "subversion" to make younger magicals turn away from wand use; doing that would have prevented people in authority from tracing a person's magical usage via spells attached to their wands. Sibilla had been executed by excessive mind-torture, but her body had disappeared before it could have been cremated. While the woman later reborn as Daishi'cha #20671 didn't really remember much of her first life, she had been remembered by a certain immortal Prussian warlord; it was Josef von Taserich who had helped her recover her past. "Always that, Leslie," the slender girl with the straight brown-black hair, the Mediterranean tanned skin and the hazel eyes peeking out of an oval-shaped face noted.

"True..."

Laughter filled the room as the others enjoying their breakfast all watched this incredible scene before them. "Will you and yours be going forth to obtain new wands, Wise Mistress Sibilla?" Mizuho then asked the reborn native of Italy. "If you are trained in the Western schools and you just recovered your magic when Master Josef and Master Abraham arranged to see you get your new bodies, you will need them. I can speak to Master Garrick Ollivander over in Diagon Alley about this matter."

"Thoughtmaster-prime Ollivander?" Leslie asked, making Harry jolt at the use of that Sagussan term; from her old childhood friend, the tavern owner's daughter expected something like "Craftsmaster" for one of the more well-known wand-crafting experts alive on Earth. "Would he be willing to help us? Given that some of us have lost our knowledge of specific spells..."

"Master Garrick owes me a favour," the would-be warrior-priestess stated...

* * *

 _ **Mizumoto Park in Katsushika (twenty kilometres north of east from Tomobiki), an hour later...**_

"Here's some corn bread for you, Rachel."

Rachel Thornbridge perked on hearing her first lieutenant say that, then she smiled as the thick slices of field-cooked bread was handed to her. Right now, the main body of her troupe of vampire-turned-war golem fighters were camped out on a small island on a bend of the Oba River, an estuary of the Edogawa River that connected that beautiful waterway to the Naka River and helped form the boundary between Katsushika Ward to the west and neighbouring Misato City in Saitama Prefecture to the east. "Thanks, Jane," she said as Jane Gilmer moved to sit down beside the plantation owner's daughter from Anderson; both had a nice camp fire burning away in front of them thanks to dead trees that the second-youngest of the sekirei had provided to keep people warm and help them cook food. "How are Kana and Shiina? Is Sally able to do something?"

"Not unless we take up Mister Ataru's and Miss Noriko's offer and become Avalonians so Sally can wing Kana properly," the saloon owner's daughter from Williamston noted as she drank some coffee. Like much of the supplies that the Amazons had with them, they had been magically prepared by Maimon Mishneh, then shrunk down in special trunks that could be reduced to the size of one's change purse, then expanded when needed. Even if they were in war golem bodies, there was enough magic available among Rachel and her friends to help keep them well-fed for months to come. "Still don't get all this."

"What do you mean?"

"Why the hell did Golden arrange to have us brought back as war golems?" Jane asked as she shook her head while nursing her coffee. The tallest of the Amazons at 170 centimetres — using the older measurements, Jane stood four inches over Rachel — the saloon owner's daughter was a really simple girl at heart, even if she was just as happy to volunteer her time to serve the infant Confederacy when the plantation owner's daughter put out the call for volunteers. She hadn't been as vicious as people like Tabitha Walters when it came to dealing with the Yankees and the darkies; even when she was a vampire, Jane had always acted with some form of decorum while in the field. She seemed quite happy to be away from drinking blood anymore and was more intrigued than intimidated when it came to the Avalonians. Now that she knew what had happened to that kindly, godly man who had given her her life back, Jane was quite supportive of the idea of actually becoming a crystal-blood, though she didn't do anything to undermine the others' loyalty to Rachel. If they needed to stay together, it was in a bewildering time like this. Professor Mishneh had tried to help, but Halbert Golden and his friends had kept the native of Georgia away from the reborn South Carolinians, sending all but Dally Shore to Japan right after they acquired their mounts.

"It doesn't make any sense," Jane added. "We're vulnerable in case someone splashes us with blood. If it wasn't for Ataru and Mizuho, we would have lost Livia and Della because of that. We know a lot of Kana's and Shiina's kin are attracted to us because the blood we drank from all the darkies we hunted in the war now make us ashikabi." She giggled. "Even if she was winged by Mister Natsuo, you can tell that Shizuka really wants Sylvie badly, Rachel. They slept together last night."

Rachel gave her a scandalized look, then she sighed, shaking her own head. "I know," the plantation owner's daughter breathed out. "Still, I gave Kana and Shiina my word that we wouldn't move until Kana felt safe enough to move. We've seen some of our brother and sister ashikabi and the girls they enslaved circling around these parts like vultures looking for the 'green girl' to add to their harem." Her voice dripped with scorn on saying that last word. "Even someone as decent as Mister Daisuke will help that boy take Kana for himself." She tried not to blush as the image of the oldest of the male sekirei, Mutsu Daisuke, flashed before her mind's eye. Chloe Wilson fought the geokinetic veteran of the original Disciplinary Squad when the Amazons bumped into Kusano Kana three weeks before. He had come to Katsushika alongside his ashikabi, a shipping magnate's son from Ōta named Mikogami Hayato...who was even younger than any of the Amazons had been before they were turned! The Amazons had been able to fight Mutsu off by moving to threaten Hayato, which made the sekirei who had come with the boy strive to defend them until Sanzō Shiina got to the scene and helped rescue his beloved sister. Once the crystals that allowed a very intensive notice-me-not field to be erected were set up on the island, the Amazons had a base right in the middle of the Tōkyō metropolis from which they could explore the terrain before they made their move on Moroboshi Ataru.

During that time, the South Carolinians had come to totally spoil the young blonde phyllokinetic rotten to help her recover from being scared so badly by people who saw her more as a perfect slave warrior than a growing teenager with her own needs. Given that her powers were still uncontrollable, Kusano had been willing to help her new "big sisters" protect their field base, though she was too scared to move elsewhere at this time. Even if she had recently endured a bit of a growth spurt that made her physically the equal of the youngest of the Amazons, Paula Dunn of Belton, the girl numbered Sekirei #108 was still a child at heart and hadn't yet fully woken to her growing body's needs. Fortunately, given that the woman that Kusano had gravitated the most to, Sarah Anderson of Iva, wasn't interested in doing THAT to the poor girl, it hadn't caused issues.

Yet.

"Rachel!"

Rachel and Jane looked over...

...then the two officers hissed out in horror as they watched the ordnance sergeant of their group ride up on her nightmare, a dazed and barely conscious woman looking to be about eighteen or so being cradled in Chloe Wilson's arm as she rode her mount with one hand on the bridle. "Chloe!" Jane called out as she ran over while shouts of shock, confusion and surprise echoed from people seated near the other small campfires. Reaching up, she smiled as the older-looking woman about the same height as the saloon owner's daughter was slid into her arms. "Oh, you poor thing!" Jane hissed as she moved to carry the girl over to a nearby log, sitting her down as footfalls heralded the arrival of Benitsubasa Shizuka. "Who are you...?!"

The heavy hitter of the Disciplinary Squad gasped on recognizing the girl. "Yū-nēsan!" she cried as she moved to comfort...

...before a squawk of horrified shock escaped her. "What?!" Jane demanded before she noted where the pink-haired close-quarters fighter was now staring with tear-filled eyes, then she focused on the dazed cryokinetic's forehead...

...where a blood red sekirei crest now sat right over the bridge of Akitsu Yū's nose.

Blinking as Chloe dismounted her nightmare and moved to tie it up against a nearby tree, Jane then gazed on Benitsubasa. "That's not supposed to be up there, is it?" she quietly asked as she gently squeezed the other woman's shoulder.

"No..." the young sekirei hissed in a near-sob. "Oh, Onē-san...!"

"He tried to...rape me, Shizuka..."

Gasps escaped the others there as Akitsu's pain-filled blue-grey eyes locked on the woman who was now helping her. "I...am broken now..." the sekirei hissed out before a pained sob escaped her, then she collapsed into Jane's arms...

* * *

 _ **Kōtō, near the headquarters of Mid-Bio Informatics, that moment...**_

" _ **AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

The bolt of energy lashed out, slamming into the stupid no-maj scientist's chest to snuff his life out before he could reach for his phone and call down security on the man who had used an Imperius Curse on him to make use of one of those damned alien freaks and send her — a tracking charm put on the beautiful girl's body — right into the arms of the monsters who had been brought back to life by that golem builder who had been coerced by one of the surviving vampires of the Civil War to bring the Anderson County Amazons back to haunt America anew. Shaking his head, Daniel Jaffe smiled as he recalled what he had learned from friends who dealt with the Japanese concerning how one could get away with using spells like the Killing Curse in the country thanks to a total lack of sensors put into the ground to help the Eight Commanderies keep an eye out for such things. And seeing how this pervert's friend had been more than happy to abuse that alien version of a yuki-onna...!

 _Pity we can't capture these things and take them back home to examine them_ , the native of New Orleans thought as he used his wand to make the scientist's body vanish before he would drop the temporary notice-me-not charms, walk out of the alley he caught the bastard in, then get on with tracking down Akitsu Yū. He was a fifteenth-generation pureblood whose ancestors had fought in the magical side of the War of 1812 against the Canadians and in the Civil War against the daywalker vampires, plus also served to keep magicals in the Union safe from no-majs through things like the near-war with Canada over what happened to the Protector of All Life when she bonded with the Power Jewel in 1889, the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of a couple years later, the Panic of 1914 when Woodrow Wilson had nearly gutted the Magical Congress out because of his racist worldviews and Gellert Grindelwald's long campaign to overturn the Statute of Secrecy that culminated in the magical side of World War Two in Europe while his ally Yomigawa Tsukiko tore things to pieces in the Pacific basin and Asia. A trained auror who took early retirement because working as a mercenary paid much better, Daniel had been happy to do a favour for certain members of the Magical Congress who feared the growing influence of the Avalonians on the normal side of the government.

No matter what Mishneh had asked Inada Mizuho to do in his deathbed letter, the Anderson County Amazons had to DIE...

And this time, STAY dead!

Letting those little hellions from South Carolina be reborn as "crystal-bloods" would give the damned bioroids a perfect strike force more than familiar with American magical society which could sweep in and help the traitors in the Magical Federal Marshals maintain a virtual dictatorship over purebloods from the White House in Washington; they could be sanctioned as a force that couldn't be touched thanks to that idiot Obama with his supreme executive power over the Department of Magic! Like many purebloods, David resented the fact that the magic that kept the Statute of Secrecy alive in the Union was all dependent on a subtle loyalty clause that made American magicals ultimately answerable to the no-maj president. While most of the Union's chiefs of state over the years had pretty much left America's magicals alone, there was Magical Executive Order 9010 written by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in mid-1942 that critically gutted Rappaport's Law during a time when the magicals of the Union desperately needed strong leadership to launch a robust response to threats from abroad in the face of the combined attacks on the nation by Grindelwald's warriors and the metahuman freaks created by that undying bastard from Rügen that had to be put down by _**Dean Raeburn**_ of all people during two intensive years of battles across North America.

Given how magical leaders in America had been aghast at the idea of the banker's daughter from Ontario being assisted by an untrained no-maj-born native of Québec named Heather Thompkins during that time without any check on the woman...!

Shaking his head as he subtly dismissed the notice-me-not fields before heading out of the alley he had dragged that would-be rapist into, the native of New Orleans smirked as he moved to walk down the street...

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the domicile of the Maidens of the People's Voice, thirty minutes later...**_

" _ **SHE WAS RAPED?!**_ "

A shuddering Inada Mizuho was now gazing at the image on the dataPADD screen before her. "Yeah!" William Pratt snarled, his own eyes flashing dangerously in outrage over what had just fallen into the laps of the Anderson County Amazons minutes before; he and his wife Drusilla had stayed at the South Carolinians' encampment in Katsushika overnight. "Turns out the wanker that was helping Yū make use of her powers right wanted to sample the delights. He screwed something up badly that blocks her from being winged by an ashikabi. Once she realized she was 'broken', he decided to have fun. Pity she had enough control to send an ice pick right through the bastard's heart, then she ran. Chloe just found her an hour ago, then dumped her into the Edogawa to wash off the blood before she brought her over to rest up and wait for some help."

Hearing that from the formerly undead poet, the would-be warrior-priestess tried not to hiss out as she felt the urge to seize an abandoned satellite up in orbit and send it crashing down on MBI headquarters to gut the heart of the company out move to overcome her. She was able to fight it down, grateful her bond-mates had been quick to sense her outrage and give her the empathic support to keep her temper in check. Most of the people who worked in MBI were innocents, ignorant of their mad leader's quest when it came to the people whose nest ship gave the pharmaceutical company such an advantage on the world markets in the last decade and more. Even those who were quite deeply involved with the sekirei such as Sahashi Takami didn't care for the whole stupid "game of the gods" that had come to torque so many of the young feathers' lives recently.

If she could get away with properly disposing of that mad daēva Minaka without causing too many issues...!

"Does your wife sense if Mistress Yū has any sort of affinity to any of Noble Mistress Rachel's troupe?" Mizuho then asked.

Spike shook his head. "Nothing. If what I understand of how this whole damned winging process works, I doubt Yū will be able to bond with anything." He shook his head. "Her soul feels really messed up in places, Mizuho..."

"Spike! Dru!"

His jaw dropped in shock on hearing that cheery voice from off to his left rear, then he looked over his shoulder. "Red! About bloody time you got here!" he snapped as a familiar green-eyed redhead walked into the camera range of the former poet's dataPADD. "We need some of your mojo to go help a friend we just made and Mizuho's a little busy with something else!"

"Oh!" Willow Rosenberg then called back before she gazed on the image in Spike's portable communicator/computer unit, her eyes widening in delight on seeing who her friend and fellow Scooby Gang member from Sunnydale was talking to now. "Hi, Mizuho! Boy, I'm sure glad I can finally call you by your name!" she then called out at a speed of talking that made the others listening to this shake their head in wonder as they asked themselves how the veteran of the Sunnydale Hellmouth could breathe while talking so fast! "I mean, 'Vinur Drekar' and those other nicknames you got are nice, but it doesn't give the respect you deserve for the things you've done! Especially when that creep Herrman came and tried to take Negi's friends hostage just because you were nice to those people in Wales! I would have done it myself, but I was just too busy...!"

" _ **WILLOW!**_ "

As laughter echoed in the background — atop Spike and Drusilla, Mizuho was quick to recognize the voices of Alexander Harris and his lover Anya Jenkins, not to mention Faith Lehane and the local leader of the Slayers in Japan, Matsudaira Satsuko — Willow gave the younger girl a wary look as Mizuho's eyes flashed with the eternal power she commanded through the incredibly ancient battle staff now in the would-be warrior-priestess' hand. "My dear friend, much that I do understand how you and the others now living in old Albion appreciated what I did some months ago when I saved Mistress Violet's life, I have to confess that your prattling at times gives me an even bigger earache than what I received from _**Hermione Granger**_ of all people!" As the California-born wiccan awked in shock on hearing that comparison with the famous veteran of Death Eater Season in the late 1990s, the would-be warrior-priestess sighed. "My apologies, my dear friend! I do understand what made you say those things to me, but now is not the time to speak of that! One of the sekirei — you'll be aware of them because of your friendship with Master Negi and his friends in Mahora — was nearly raped and crippled just this day!" As Willow gasped while Faith and Satsuko (known more commonly as "Satsu") screamed in outrage, Mizuho nodded to a place behind the visiting Californian. "Noble Mistress Rachel's good ordnance sergeant was able to bring Mistress Yū to her encampment...!"

 _ **Controller, a group of twenty American wand-magicals are moving to portkey into the encampment of the Anderson County Amazons. They were able to locate the encampment thanks to a tracing spell placed on Akitsu Yū.**_

Willow's eyes went wide on hearing the Staff's warning, then she whispered a spell. As shouts of alarm echoed from the reborn South Carolinians, the red-haired descendant of a survivor of Auschwitz smirked. "I got them!" she called out.

"My thanks, dear friend!" Mizuho said. "I'll be there soon!"

"Bring Ataru, Mizuho-chan!" Xander then called out. "We can use the Terminator!"

The would-be warrior-priestess laughed...

* * *

 _ **Back in Katsushika...**_

" _ **WILLOW! WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?! LET US GO!**_ "

Hearing that, Willow blinked before she sighed, shaking her head in sadness at what was about to happen. "Hello, Jim! What are you doing here?" she calmly asked as she twisted her hand around, manipulating the heavy hypercharged magic in the air over the Amazons' encampment to allow twenty people, most of them in dated clothing from the time of the Roaring Twenties, to crash into a pile of idiocy well clear of any of the Californian's current hosts from South Carolina. Before any could try to extract themselves out of that pile of bodies, the powerful self-taught wiccan who had supported Buffy Summers since the day they first met in high school made a gesture with her hand, telekinetically yanking the hit-wizards' wands of their hands and sending them flying towards Rachel Thornbridge. "None of them can do wandless magic, Major! Would you mind, please?!"

Smiling at the nice Jewish woman who had protected her and her friends from the stupid magicals who had planned to attack them using poor Miss Yū as a bloodhound of sorts to breach her camp's defences, the plantation owner's daughter whipped out her sabre and sliced the wands apart with one sweep of the blade. Seeing that, Faith Lehane nodded in clear approval. "Man, who the hell taught you to how to use that pig-sticker, Little Red?! You do that like a pro!"

Rachel blinked. "'Little Red'?!"

"Sure!" Faith said before pointing to Willow, who was now conjuring earth chains to bind the hit wizards down. "She's Red!" She then pointed to the commander of the Amazons. "You're Little Red!" As some of the privates in Rachel's command snickered at the sassy Yankee girl happily giving their boss a nickname, Rachel herself blushed. "You know one of these dumb stalebloods, Red?" she then asked as she walked over to stand beside Willow. "This guy from the 'Dale?"

Willow nodded; both she and Xander Harris were gazing sadly upon James Newman. "He was invited to Ilvermorny just before we entered junior high school, Faith," the carpenter and all-around handyman who had been at the side of Buffy Summers right from nearly the start of her career as the Slayer on the Hellmouth said with a sigh. Both Sunnydale survivors had found out the truth about their friend in the years after they had fled their destroyed home town while tracking down relatives of the victims of the First Evil and his forces; they had been helped in that regard by sympathetic aurors of the Department of Magic and the Magical Federal Marshals. "Never figured you for a staleblood lover, Jim! Everyone knows you're 'no-maj-born'," he said as he made air quotes with his fingers. The others were quick to see the cousin to a teacher who had been killed a year before Buffy came to Sunnydale High squawk on hearing that insult from his old childhood classmate. "Staleblood lover" was a common nickname among liberal American wand magicals for those who wanted to see Rappaport's Law brought back and a policy of strict separation enforced between magical and normal...which any sensible person in the Union would conclude would be a really stupid thing in the long term. "What the hell are you doing defying Professor Quahog by trying to bug these nice ladies here?!" he then asked as he waved to the vampires-turned-golems nearby, making all of them blush at the sincere compliment the roguish Californian just gave them. "They haven't done anything wrong ever since they came here!"

"You stupid no-maj!" Daniel Jaffe snarled as the others glared death at the one-eyed carpenter-turned-Slayer scout/trainer. "You should have all been obliviated of all knowledge of magic right from the damned start, Harris! You...!"

With a snarl, Faith lunged over to grasp the Louisianian by the throat and yank him clear of his bindings, causing bones to break in Daniel's body. As Willow used her magic to keep the others bound down while the hit-wizard that insulted Xander screamed in agony from nearly getting his throat crushed by the Boston-born slayer — to say anything of having his arms shattered — Faith pulled the loudmouth right before her, her brown eyes glowing with the mixture of ancient demon magic and the power of the regenerative enzymes her new Avalonian body came with. "You insulting my friend there, Cajun Boy?!" she snarled, causing Daniel to awk in horror as her fingers squeezed on his throat. "You got fucking guts saying that shit! Fucking sitting on your duffs in Manhattan while B and Red and X were watching their friends be killed every damned night...!"

" _ **HE'S THE ONE!**_ "

Faith's head snapped around as a woman dressed in tattered, soaked clothing rose from the ground near the campfire where Rachel and her number three girl had been seated when Willow and her friends teleported in. Seeing the sekirei crest on this one's forehead, the dark-haired Slayer shuddered as she recalled what she had learned about these girls thanks to friends from Mahora they had made shortly after Negi Springfield's old class and all of the Slayers alive today had been remade as Avalonians ultimately thanks to Moroboshi Negako. "You're Akitsu Yū," the Bostonian then said. "Number Seven, right?!"

Akitsu blinked before her brown eyes teared. "That number...will not apply to me anymore, Faith-sama," she said. "I am broken thanks to the man I killed..." Her face turned into a mask of righteous fury as the air around her started to chill and she pointed at the hit-wizard now in the Bostonian's grasp. "Who might not have hurt me...hadn't THIS pathetic waste of flesh used an _**Imperius**_ on him..." As Daniel awked, the cryokinetic smirked as she felt both Jane Gilmer's and Chloe Wilson's hands squeeze her shoulders in support. "Didn't think we'd all could recognize your weak and disgusting magic, _**staleblood**_?"

He spat out, "You...metahuman...freak...!"

The Louisianian then gargled as Faith's fingers nearly crushed his windpipe. "You're as much a meta as she and I are!" the Bostonian snarled as he tried to use his magic to heal his arms, then pull those rock-hard appendages off his throat.

"If I may, Lady Faith..."

Faith looked over. "Hey, Dragon Girl! Where...?!"

Her voice then caught in her throat as a vision of pure alien beauty walked up to stand behind the struggling hit-wizard from Louisiana. As Willow, Satsu and Anya all gaped on sensing the Bostonian's heart do massive flip-flops on seeing the brown-haired Pirpirsiw'r who just was teleported in by the Friend of Dragons, said beauty smiled as she gave Faith a knowing look. "Can I take this thing off your hands?" the namesake of a retrothrash singer from a future Tōkyō sweetly asked.

Faith smiled. "Be my guest!"

She let go of Daniel, making him collapse to his knees...

...before a mesonium crystal tied to a small electronic chip was slapped onto his forehead.

A second later, an inhuman shriek of pain then exploded from the park, making nearby birds squawk in fright before they took to the skies to get away from whatever was screaming so loudly! The people close to him then winced and the other hit-wizards all howled their outrage on sensing that the Louisianian was having his mind scanned at inhuman speeds by this tanned woman with the tattoo under her right eye. After a moment, Daniel's voice failed as the crystal was pulled away from him, then Asagiri Priss smiled at the cryokinetic who had been hurt the most by this particular monster. "All yours, Yū!"

"Arigatō," the sekirei calmly said...

...then she lashed out with her powers to freeze the hit-wizard in place, turning him into solid ice from inside out. As the other American magicals gaped on seeing that, Inada Mizuho came up to gaze upon him, sensing he had been killed when all his cells were frozen solid thanks to the cryokinetic's power. "You won't hurt my friends with your blood even if your soul has just been dragged into the Dark One's realm to suffer for Eternity until the Frašōkərəti comes to forever cleanse the Wise Lord's Creation of all druj! I will ensure your relatives in the Beautiful Land of the Bayous will NEVER learn of your fate, daēva!"

With a blast of energy from the Staff, she disintegrated the body, leaving no fragment behind that could harm Rachel or her friends. " _ **YOU BITCH!**_ " James Newman then howled. " _ **YOU'LL PAY FOR DOING THAT! YOU'LL...!**_ "

A metal foot slammed down on the ground to his right, causing him to jolt before an aura of pure DARKNESS washed over him. Slowly, he turned to look up...then felt his bowels let go on seeing the transformed man now looming over him.

" **That's my Other you just insulted, little sorcerer** ," the Cyborg coldly declared...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character notes:

The members of **Pathfinder Troop Six** were first introduced in the _TSY_ story "Mie's Story". The original birth names of four of the group, **Sylia Stingray** (Daishi'cha #76073), **Asagiri Priscilla** (Daishi'cha #22860), **Asuka Langley** (Daishi'cha #95143) and **Néne Románova** (Daishi'cha #88576) were introduced in following stories. Of course, as noted above, these six particular women are named after the four members of the Knight Sabres from the original _Bubblegum Crisis_ OVA series produced between 1987-91 by Youmex with assistance from Artmic and AIC as well as two of the lead female characters from the original _Shin Seiki Evangelion_ television series produced by Gainax between 1995-96. Of course, when I first created these characters for _TSY_ , I made use of their given names, adding the suffix name "-noevan" for Rei and Asuka to differentiate them from Daishi'cha named after like-named characters from other series.

 **Yoakenikkō** (Daishi'cha #1) was first mentioned in the _TSY_ story "Great Father Ataru Stage Two: Remembrance".

To explain Sylia's observation of the **Spirit War in Tomobiki** (as depicted in the _TSY_ story "Spirit-War Tomobiki"): That event wasn't as bloody as what happened on Uru and within Vos Colony Four in the story "Great Father Ataru Stage Seven: Re-Birth". In that story, Ataru (as Cyborg) really went crazy, but he killed most people out of the sight of his former classmates from Tomobiki High School. They saw the aftermath of almost everything save his executing the **Mikado** (who first appeared in "Dakejinzō's Story"), but not Ataru actually killing them with his own hands or weapons.

 **Pathfinder Team Two** was one of the ground infantry units of the Sagussan Navy; they were first mentioned in "Mie's Story". **Leslie Comstock** (Daishi'cha #86838) and her peers were created for this story. A Pathfinder team is an infantry company-sized unit of 110 people, divided into ten fighting troops of 10 persons each with a headquarters and support troop.

2) Translation list: **Specnáz** — Short for **Vojská Speciál'novo Naznačénija** ("Special Purpose Forces"); **Fallschirmjäger** — Literally "parachute hunter", this was the term for German airborne infantry soldiers; **Knochensack** — Literally "bone sack"; **Mei'na** — One's soul, all that is not of one's physical body; **Yōkai** — Literally "ghost" or "phantom", this is the catch-all phrase in Japan for all supernatural spirits who are not kami; **Tamgh va ragh** — Literally "my dance of love", this is the common Sagussan euphemism for sexual intercourse.

3) Translation of Sagussan numbers: **Righ** (0), **ai** (1), **ei** (2), **ii** (3), **oi** (4), **ui** (5), **ao** (6), **eo** (7), **io** (8), **uo** (9), **o** (10), **oa** (100), **oe** (1,000), **oai** (10,000), **ou** (100,000). When creating multiples of base-10 numbers, add the singukar before the multiple, i.e. **ui'o** (50). Creating numbers between multiples of ten, add the number after the multiple, i.e. **ei'ouo** (29). As this is applied to a Daishi'cha's sequential number, the numbers are often read as if they were individual values. For example, Asuka's number #95143 is normally said " **Uouiaioiii** " (literally "nine-five-one-four-three") in lieu of " **Ui'oaiui'oeai'oaoi'oii** " (literally "ninety-five thousand, one hundred and forty-three"). When a "0" appears in a sequential number such as Sylia's, the multiple of base ten would be subbed in, i.e. " **Eoao'oeeoii** " (literally "seven-sixty thousand-seven-three"). As shown above, the Daishi'cha used the first two or three digits of their sequential numbers as a sort of nickname after their began developing their emotions.

4) _Buffy_ character notes: **Whistler** first appeared in the second season's twenty-first episode, the first part of "Beginning". **Faith Lehane** first appeared in the third season's third episode, "Faith, Hope and Trick". **Matsudaira Satsuko** is the full name I created for **Satsu** , who first appeared in the eighth season's comic book storyline "The Long Way Home". **James Newman** is my own creation, though he is related to **Grace Newman** , who first appeared in the second season's nineteenth episode, "I Only Have Eyes For You". And if you don't know who **Willow Rosenberg** and **Alexander "Xander" Harris** are by now, where have you been over the last two decades?

5) **Vladímir Rússalovič Tayčéško** (born **Résav'l** ), known more commonly as **Lord Rjazán'** , first appeared in _Wanderers_.

6) _Bubblegum Crisis_ character notes: Of course, **Sylvie** never had a family name when she was introduced. The name "Terreblanche" comes from _Illusions_ ; in that story, it was the family name of her owner before her recall to Genaros.

7) _Harry Potter_ school notes: The **Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** was first introduced in _Pottermore_ ; alumni of that school got the chance to appear in the film version of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ which was recently released. Like Hogwarts, Ilvermorny is split into four houses that chose students depending on a governing psychological aspect, just as the older British school does. The houses in question are **Horned Serpent** , **Wampus** , **Thunderbird** and **Pukwudgie**. Those who become members of the Thunderbird House such as Leslie Erwin (now Leslie Comstock) did in her first life, are valued for being adventurers, which makes them a mixture of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff on the Hogwarts scale. The Thunderbird is seen as symbolizing a magical person's very soul in Ilvermorny spiritual lore.

As an aside, read _Magic and Canada_ to understand the history of American magicals as I view them in my stories.

8) Fans of _The Patriot_ should recognize the names of the people Leslie's ancestor dealt with in the American Revolution.

9) _Sekirei_ character notes:

 **Kusano Kana** (Sekirei #108) first appeared in the manga story "Musubi" (manga chapter #3).

Her spiritual twin brother, **Sanzō Shiina** (Sekirei #107), first appeared in the first part of "The Case of Little Sister Sahashi", an addendum to manga chapter #25.

And **Akitsu Yū** (Sekirei #7) first appeared in the prequel chapters to the main story as published in the first manga volume.


	8. A Beacon for the Past

**DISCLAIMER: Concurrent with fair dealing clauses of the** ** _Copyright Act_** **(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42) of Canada and fair use clauses in copyright legislation in other nations, this is a work that was created solely for entertainment purposes. Furthermore, it is posted freely on the Internet without expectation or requirement of remuneration.**

* * *

 _ **Tomobiki, the Moroboshi home, two hours before lunch...**_

"You want to learn how to properly court Leslie-san?"

Harry Hunter rapidly nodded her head. "I'm gonna do it!" she asserted the group of Shiroiwa boys she was now meeting with inside the main recreation room. "I mean, now that I know Leslie's alive, I've got more than enough reason to be an Avalonian! But..." She took a deep breath. "If it happens like what happened to you two with Miss Sakura and Miss Keiko..." A weak smile then crossed the face of the tavern owner's daughter from Iva. "I don't want to hurt her."

Hearing that made both Yamamoto Kazuhiko and Kawada Shōgo blink for a moment, then they exchanged looks before gazing once more on the reborn veteran of the Civil War. "Um...not wanting to try to disappoint you or anything, Harry-chan, but I don't think we're the right people to ask," the former then said. "Yes, we're bonded to the ladies we love, but our relationships would be seen as 'normal' back home. You'd be better off talking to Shō or Yukie-chan or Haruka-chan."

"Are you thinking you'll be the one to wear the pants in this relationship? If it happens?" the doctor's son from Kōbe asked.

"Well..."

"You don't have feelings of superiority to her, do you?" Kazuhiko asked.

"NO!" Harry gasped. "No! I...!" She then stopped herself. "Oh, damn!" she hissed out. "Of course you had to ask that sort of thing, Mister Kazuhiko! I'm sorry about that!" The tavern owner's daughter then shook her head. "I never saw Leslie as anything less than a person. Yeah, I supported slavery! It's how our economy ran back then; we felt we had no choice but to keep it because that's how it had been for years and people couldn't see any decent way of changing things to make everyone happy! Leslie's great-grandfather won his freedom fighting under Colonel Martin in the Revolution, which was something everyone in South Carolina knew about. No one would ever think of trying to enslave Leslie or her family! It just wasn't done! Hell, Negroes back then could even own slaves if they could afford to do it!" As both natives of another dimension gaped, Harry nodded. "It wasn't perfect, but we hated what the Yankees were doing trying to press for emancipation. Uncle Joseph stayed loyal to the South right through until I 'died' at Rocky Face Ridge. He never ran north, nor did Aunt Hattie!"

"I never knew that!" Kazuhiko exclaimed.

Shōgo grunted as he gave his classmate a knowing look. "History's always been watered down and simplified to make it easier to teach moral lessons, Kazuhiko," the doctor's son stated, making the son of Shiroiwa's local blacksmith nod in understanding. "Look how much we were brainwashed when it came to learning how 'evil' white people were?" As Kazuhiko snorted and Harry shook her head, he sighed. "Harry, look. You care for Leslie. That's a great start. I could sense she was starting to mentally harmonize with you. There have been instances of Avalonians bonding with normal Terrans since the Liberation. You're still human where it counts the most for someone like Leslie. You can bond even as you are now." He sighed, wishing he could be more empathic to help the tavern owner's daughter better understand actually starting a relationship that would bond her together soul-to-soul with the reborn teamster's daughter and wand-witch. "Look, see it this way: Imagine having a life with Leslie in the future. You bond, wait until the nesting urge hits, then start a family. You'll both be caring parents to your kids; it's the way Leslie was virtually raised when she was reborn and you became a vampire to ensure people could have a future free of Yankee oppression, which included raising the next generation of children in peace, freedom and harmony, right?" At Harry's assertive nod, he added, "The people you chose as your kids' fathers will probably want to be there to help raise them. Ataru's not going to abandon his daughter even if he damn hell wasn't ready to find out he was a dad like he did last night. And Mizuho and Satomi are going to help Paishu and her friends raise Trolok-chan. Follow their example. Leslie's still pretty loyal to Ataru, so she might want him to be her kids' father. You like him now, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Harry asserted. "He was a true gentleman to Miss Paishu and he was happy to help make sure no one on Earth suffered like she did when he got Miss Mizuho to use these genesis bomb things on that devil planet that Shirai fellow and his father really come from. And even if Mister Golden lied through his teeth to make it seem that Mister Ataru was evil, he didn't mind it when he found out we were here to kill him. That takes a really honourable man to look at things like..."

The distant report of guns firing from somewhere echoed through the room, making the two _Program_ players and the veteran of the Civil War tense. "What the hell was that?!" Kazuhiko demanded as Shōgo reached for the Genesis Wand of Parah.

 _ **There is now a group of thirty-nine local high school students, all male, now massing in front of the Jōgenmon, Yamamoto Kazuhiko**_ , the voice of old Sagussa's ultimate terraforming weapon declared. _**All are students of Tomobiki Senior High School. They are accusing Moroboshi Ataru of killing Shirai Kōsuke "in cold blood" as well as raping Redet Paishu in defiance of his "marriage" to Redet Lum. Said group is now being led by Aisuru Satoshi and the members of "Lum's Stormtroopers". They acquired weapons from a cache of equipment Mendō Shūtarō directed them to.**_

"Ain't them the same fellas I put down yesterday morning?!" Harry demanded.

 _ **The same people, Harriet Clara Hunter. Now augmented with allies.**_

"Dang it all!"

"Harry, you go do your body-swap," Shōgo then bade. "We'll handle this!"

She scowled, then nodded, rising to head into the family dōjō. Before she got there, a snarling stagecoach owner's daughter from Townville came down the steps from the north balcony, quickly sensing what her friend now had in mind. "Who the dang hell is shooting like that?!" Tabitha Walters snarled as she fell in behind her friend as they moved to step into the dōjō.

"Same idiots I put down yesterday when I met Miss Tachiko!" Harry said as they stopped, bowing respectfully to the dōjō spirit before the tavern owner's daughter began to strip out of her clothes. "How the hell did they recover so fast?! I knew I cut them up enough to put them down! Hell, back in our day, they'd be getting limbs amputated thanks to what I did to them!"

"It appears that several of the yōkai in Tomobiki are becoming more alarmed at the fact that their influence on the residents here is lessening by the day, Harriet," Moroboshi Negako calmly stated as she enjoyed some tea while Harry took off the rest of her clothes, then moved to stand beside the diagnostic bed where her replacement body laid, now under stasis to ensure it wasn't damaged or had expired before tre'cha occurred. "Atop that, Kaeru's revival thanks to Satoko and her friends has allowed another element of family to join Ataru, thus give him the spiritual 'support' to continue on his path in 'defiance' of the wishes of others." She then gazed on the tavern owner's daughter. "Just caress the cheeks of your new body, Harriet."

"Right...!"

"Harry!"

Harry turned, then blushed as Leslie Comstock stepped up to the entrance of the dōjō. As the reborn Ilvermorny alumnus and volunteer guide for America's first-ever magical Army fighting regiment licked her lips in anticipation of her friend embracing her new life, Tabitha gazed in amusement at Harry's would-be lover. "Now, you make sure you don't embarrass Harry, Les!"

"But she's such a _**temptation**_ , Miss Tabitha!" Leslie meowed.

That made the stagecoach owner's daughter laugh as Harry flustered further. She took a deep breath, positioning herself at the very head of the bed holding her future in safety, then she clasped her hands before her as she bowed her head. "Blessed be the Lord my strength which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight," she hissed the first verse of Psalm 144...

...then she touched the cheek of her new body!

* * *

 _ **South of the Jōgenmon, that moment...**_

"What the FUCK are those idiots doing?!" Fujinami Ryūnosuke demanded.

Several Tomobiki High girls, most from Class 2-4, were gaping in disbelief and horror at the sight of their schoolmates all firing surplus Japanese Self-Defence Force weapons at the stone gate that now blocked off Kita-Teibō 4-dōri from passing by the east side of the old Moroboshi property. All of them had more food that had been cooked by their mothers and themselves to help feed the growing army of people now living with Moroboshi Ataru and his family. "They're possessed," Miyake Shinobu then hissed out. After spending a wonderful night with her bond-mate and her new friend Sylia Stingray, Ataru's former girlfriend had gone back to her house to assure her parents all was well. Much to Shinobu's delight, the congregation at Saint Mary's Cathedral in Bunkyō — the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese centred on Japan's capital city — had elected to help out the Miyake family when it came to the newcomers from another dimension and a hell that no one in Japan regardless of faith could understand. She had got her friends to help transport it all to the Moroboshi home when the gunfire started.

"Possessed?!" Marubeya Momoe wondered.

"Yes! Remember Mujaki from back in September?!"

"The dream demon?!" Inu Chigaiko demanded.

"Same one! He's been trying to give Hensō a 'good' dream after he met her a week before we ran into Elle in December! Even now, he doesn't believe that Hensō isn't Lum-san!" As the other girls gaped at her, Shinobu contemptuously nodded her chin towards the screaming boys up the street. "So he's been force-feeding dreams into all the boys to make them continue to think that Hensō is Lum-san and that they have to fight to break Ataru away from Mizuho-san and Satomi-san!"

"What for?! Wasn't that thing here in February when Negako-san and Kyech-san got rid of the Niphentaxians and that bomb in the Ginza?!" Arakida Yui, the first to date the post-Liberation Ataru after he came back to school at the start of April, then asked. "After what Ataru-kun did to those pirates, that thing should have realized that it was stupid to hang around here!"

The other girls nodded. "Pity we don't have guns ourselves," Ryūnosuke's lover and bond-mate Shiowatari Nagisa hissed. "If they see us shooting them — especially in the back! — that'll deliver a strong message for sure!"

"We'd have to be like a Yank or rebel regiment in the Civil War," the "heir" of Hamachaya noted as the other girls grimly nodded. "Hit them all at the same time with a shit-load of fire; don't let them try to turn those guns on us!"

Silence fell as the others considered that, their hearts sinking as the growing horror of this insane moment began to totally overwhelm them. Except for Ryūnosuke and her lover, the girls had been witnesses to the awful bloodletting during the night of the Ides of March, though they had not participated in fighting the alien pirates that invaded Tomobiki that day. But there had been times when the girls had dreamed of being forced to do what their classmate had been compelled by Fate to do first at Morningstar Plain on Okusei, then aboard the bioroid factory when it was marooned on Phentax Two a little over four weeks later, then again in the streets of Tomobiki just five weeks after that. Of confronting someone that didn't care about people's lives whatsoever, with only final death for one side or the other being the acceptable result of such a confrontation. Given the many times that demons and other such yōkai had intimately interacted with many of the normal citizens of Tomobiki, it hadn't taken the adopted Avalonian population of the town long to accept the incredible stories of what the Slayers and other organizations around the world had done over the years to ensure that the things that went "bump" in the night wouldn't harm normal people more than necessary. And while the potential horror of firing on classmates and friends hadn't been imagined...

...that there were people now living with Ataru who had been in three-day firefights to the DEATH in their old dimension...

...to say anything of members of a troupe of vampires-turned-golems now living there, whose total butcher count in the Civil War was said to have equalled some of the more bloody known battles such as Antietam/Sharpsburg and Gettysburg...!

"May God forgive us," Shinobu hissed. "Negako-san?"

 _ **«Tabitha, Olivia, Harriet, Dahlia and Cordelia will approach you from Kita-Teibō 6-dōri on a flanking manoeuvre along Nishi-Teibō 4-dōri, Shinobu,»**_ the ninjutsu grandmaster called out into the girls' minds, using the ki of the earth itself to transmit the message even if it ran the risk of some yōkai listening in and moving to stop it. _**«They will all carry modified versions of the Henry Model 1860 repeating rifle introduced into Federal service during the Civil War with them. You will have to act as volunteer militia to assault the boys from behind; the local riot police cannot arrive for another twenty minutes and the chances of their expanding their attack on neighbouring homes is high.»**_

"Wouldn't you be able to stop them using the Stone-Body Shield Defence, Negako-san?" Ryūnosuke hissed as the girls quietly stepped back, keeping their faces towards the boys' backs up the street as they shifted themselves down to the intersection between Kita-Teibō 4-dōri and Nishi-Teibō 4-dōri at the northwest end of the grounds of Tomobiki High School itself.

 _ **«This is all Tabitha's suggestion, Ryūnosuke. Having YOU deal with them would do more damage to the morale of all those who support Hensō's return to Tomobiki than anything I can do,»**_ Negako stated with an amused smile in her voice. _**«At the range you will engage them in, they will not be killed even if you strike a vulnerable point in their bodies. The bullets were provided by our new friends from Sagussa. They have mesonium warheads that will place the boys in comas, which will free their minds from Mujaki's influence. You will have shield-belts to protect you if they try to return fire before you launch your first volley. Right now, other yōkai are moving to breach the home's defences...»**_

Everyone then jolted as sounds similar to sparking electricity filled the air. As if in echo of Negako's warning to her current students, parts of the air close to the high walls of the expanded Moroboshi home began to shimmer with energy. "Holy fuck!" Ryūnosuke gasped in disbelief. "Oi, Negako-san! Can Satoko-chan and her friends keep 'em back?!"

 _ **«We're holding fine, Ryūnosuke-sempai!»**_ Manabe Satoko assured them.

"Why do it THIS way, Negako-san?!" Inoue Tamako asked.

"'Cause you're delivering a message to the slimy critters starting this mess, Tamako!"

The girls turned...

...then they grinned in obvious relief on seeing five women around their age on magical horses ride up, all in Confederate grey and butternut. Slung on the saddles tied around their nightmares' bodies were beautiful rifles done in dark wood, gunmetal steel and shiny brass. "They're all loaded!" Tabitha barked out as the South Carolinians dismounted, tying their mounts to nearby lamp poles before they moved to carry the weapons over to hand to their new friends. "Bullets aren't in the barrels; don't cock these things! Put the belts Leslie and her friends brought down with them on before you form up!"

"Put the food there!" Olivia Floyd said as she handed rifles to Ryūnosuke and Nagisa, then she pointed at a clear spot nearby.

The girls all unloaded their cargo, then took up the weapons just handed to them. Going to one knee, Ryūnosuke gazed at the rifle in her hand, then she turned it around to look at the tube magazine under the barrel. "Why load these damned things to the top of the tube, Tabitha?!" she demanded on seeing the sixteen modified .44 rimfire cartridges now held down by the spring tab that would push each round into the loading position when the lever was cocked. She had seen videos on this particular type of weapon thanks to a retired middle school teacher and police officer from Tennessee who often published short films on YouTube concerning weapons of various types that he test fired on his private range. "You don't think...?"

"It ain't ever smart to bet your life on anything, especially if lead's flying in the air, Miss Ryūnosuke," Harry Hunter then warned as she started handing out the shield belts, which were similar to military webbing waist belts with a small device on the buckle, a nice tan button there. "Get these things on! Don't cock the levers on your carbines just yet!"

Having seen many personnel serving in Mendō Shūtarō's clan paramilitary forces as they performed their duties many times before, the girls gently placed the rifles onto the street before they slipped the belts on. "Pick up the weapons, then turn the shields on!" Tabitha barked out. "Form a line of fire! Dress off on Ryūnosuke there! Shinobu, go to the left flank!"

"Hai!"

"What are you doing?!"

That was Ryūnosuke's father Fujimi. "We're stopping those hotheads up the street from killing people, Oyaji!" the tomboy snapped back as she picked up her weapon, then formed the right side of the file of volunteer shooters.

It didn't take the older man long to realize what the plan was. "You're shooting them in the BACK?!" the school janitor roared.

"Sir! Please be quiet!" Dally Shore snapped. "We've got shots that won't kill them! They're being possessed by demons!"

That made the elderly fisherman sigh. "It's not honourable, child."

"Devils don't give a damn about honour, old timer!" Tabitha snarled.

Hearing that, Fujimi nodded, then he looked over to see a small crowd of gaping onlookers staring wide-eyed at the scene up the street, they smartly keeping close to fence walls to duck behind if needed. Fortunately, the people who lived closer to the Moroboshi home had wisely stayed indoors and hid themselves as far from the street as possible. Even more, the screaming boys shooting away with no abandon were concentrating everything on the closed doors to the Jōgenmon; to prevent any sort of ricochet from crashing through a window in a neighbouring home, the massed _haijo-ju_ of the Maidens of the People's Voice were allowing the bullets to be absorbed by a stasis field that made them drop uselessly to the ground. So far, none of the boys had yet got a clue about actually charging the gate itself, which was another small mercy in this insane situation.

"I'll keep the crowds back!" he then said.

"Appreciated, sir!" Olivia Floyd called out.

As Fujimi raced off, the girls rose, holding weapons at port arms and moving to form a line of review. Olivia moved to stand behind them in her role as sergeant while Tabitha stood ahead of them. "Alright, cock your weapon and load a round!" the stagecoach owner's daughter called out, showing how to do it with her rifle. "Aim to the sky and keep your fingers from the triggers until I tell you to aim at the critters down the street...then you'll be giving them enough lead to sell mining shares!"

The girls howled as they did that, moving with remarkable precision for effectively untrained civilians. "Dang! Y'all wanna join the militia when you get to be of age?!" Della Burns then asked as she gazed in amusement at Momoe.

"Live in this town long enough, Della-chan, you learn this!" the girl once voted as second-most popular in Class 1-4 advised.

Laughter escaped the others. "Team!" Tabitha called out as she drew her sabre with her free hand. "For your friends! For your families! For your sweethearts! For your homes and city! _**Forward...MARCH!**_ "

A chorus of screaming, yipping sounds like hungry foxes howling through a long and dark tunnel or banshees from the Ireland of old wailing over the fields of their island escaped the South Carolinians at a volume that made people watching this gape in shock, even the Tomobiki High girls who had been drafted "drafted" into bringing peace and quiet to their town.

None realized they were the first in this day and age to hear something that hadn't echoed over a battlefield in over a century:

The _**Rebel Yell**_...!

* * *

 _ **Mizumoto Park in Katsushika, that moment...**_

"Lord God above...they're insane!"

"Can't they hear the girls yelling like that?!"

"No, my friends. That is how much the daēva possessing them now have come to warp their senses. Feel pity for the boys that will experience the power of Master Benjamin Henry's remarkable invention, modernized for the age we live in. Feel nothing but scorn for the stupid creatures that are about to be exorcised from them once Lady Tabitha gives the order to fire."

Hearing Inada Mizuho's cold analysis of the situation, the members of the Anderson County Amazons still camped on the shores of the Oba could only nod before they turn back to gaze upon the scene south of the Moroboshi property in Tomobiki being projected from William Pratt's personal dataPADD with the help of the Staff of Gihan; the angle of view was from above and to the east of Kita-Teibō 4-dōri north of the intersection of Nishi-Teibō 4-dōri. Nearby, agents of the Kantō Magical Association were removing the hit-wizards captured by Willow Rosenberg an hour earlier for transport to Mahora. Despite the bluster the Americans had showed to people such as Negi Springfield and Takahata Takamachi, the fact that the infamous "Red Witch" had immediately sealed their magic once she had captured them had turned them all, even Willow's old classmate James Newman, into something akin to children who just had their favourite toys destroyed by uncaring parents. That a long period of imprisonment awaited the hit-wizards at the magical prison hadn't hit them yet. Once the leaders of the Kantō Magical Association put them through a trial for conspiracy to kill guests of Japan which could have provoked a massive breach against the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, they would be condemned to the facility located at the site of the long-closed Mahōtokoro-gakkō, which had been shut down before the Greater East Asia War by the infamous Mahō-Shōgun Yomigawa Tsukiko — also known as "Tsukuyomi" or the "Dark Lady of the Orient" — because it had been seen as a hotbed of treason against the plans the arch-mage from rural Kyūshū had to free Asia from European domination.

For the people who had come to the rescue of Rachel and her friends, that was no longer any concern of theirs.

"Yeah, they're about to get a serious re-education..."

That was Asagiri Priss, who was gazing in amusement at the sight of a bunch of untrained civilians — including this universe's version of the woman who tried to kill the Pirpirsiw'r and her sisters a decade before — about to drop the whole galaxy right onto the heads of the more that thirty boys blasting away with borrowed assault rifles and machine guns at the gate leading into the Moroboshi property, uncaring that the amount of ammunition they were discharging could kill a bystander hadn't Mizuho's friends among the Maidens of the People's Will used their _haijo-ju_ to keep the attack funnelled down the street, making a perfect kill box for Tabitha Walters and her troupe of volunteer militia to use. Standing close to the namesake of a punk rocker from an old anime series she hadn't heard of until today, Faith Lehane snorted as she drew out a cigarette and lit it up. "Jerks!" the Bostonian snarled out. "They wouldn't have lasted a night in the 'Dale with attitudes like that!"

"Where the hell are Belle, Ellie and Bridget?!"

That was Jane Gilmer, who was now scowling at the sight of only five of her company now at the sides of their new friends from Tomobiki as they moved to restore the peace of the district. "Probably still wondering if they should cross over or not, Jane-san," Moroboshi Ataru said. He was now seated beside a weeping Akitsu Yū, who was being comforted by both Chloe Wilson and Benitsubasa Shizuka. "Much that Onē-san is insisting it should be done quickly, I won't stick knives into their backs to get them to do it. I can guess Harry-chan did it because she wants to get back together again with Leslie-san. And while Mizuho and I are worried about Yūko now that she clearly wants Annabelle-san, we won't force it with her."

"Look how you all reacted when you believed Master Abraham was moving to force you all to accept abolition," Mizuho added.

That made the South Carolinians blush as they felt the would-be warrior-priestess gaze fondly at them. "Thing I don't get is why the hell is it that the stalebloods in Manhattan are trying to force this," Xander Harris mused.

Mizuho snorted. "Easily explained, my friend: Magical Executive Order #13532."

"What's that, Miss Mizuho?" Rachel asked.

"'Tis a binding declaration of the Wise Master Barack Obama issued on the first of March this year, Noble Mistress Rachel." As the plantation owner's daughter from Anderson blushed at that honorific, the native of another universe's Shiroiwa added, "Within it, Master Barack declared that all Avalonians seeking to reside within the territory of all the several states of the great Union and both the incorporated and unincorporated territories beyond the several states which are seen to be also controlled by the Union would be seen as possessing equal civil rights with all native-borns regardless of their possessing or lacking any metahuman ability." A smirk crossed her face. "Once the revelations concerning the Avalonians got out among magical leaders, many stalebloods tried to have them declared magical creatures, which makes them LESS than human in the eyes of the law! Master Barack stopped it before it could really start, as did many of his counterparts in Europe and Latin America."

"So what would have happened if Rachel and her friends here were attacked after they crossed over?" Priss then asked.

"They would have lost their magic, Wise Mistress Priscilla."

Hearing that made the girls from another century blink...

...before the thunderous chatter of multiple Henry Model 1860 rifles firing a fusillade echoed over the dataPADD nearby, causing heads to turn as they watched a wave of burning silvery energy to rip up the street right into the backs of the massed boys standing close to the Jōgenmon. None escaped that storm of meson shells fired at them; after they were hit in the backs and the heads, they seemed to jerk like marionettes being yanked up by their strings before they dropped into unconscious heaps on the street. A couple of the boys — Mizuho and Ataru were quick to recognize two of the Stormtroopers, Megane and Kakugari — twitched as they tried to shrug off the energy that was about to overwhelm their minds. Having stepped aside before she gave the order to fire, Tabitha Walters levelled her rifle on them, then sent another shot each into their heads.

There was no movement after that.

"That takes care of that," Ataru muttered.

"Do not be so quick to say that, my love."

He blinked on hearing Mizuho's warning, then looked anew.

"Might be a flanking manoeuvre," Rachel warned...

* * *

 _ **Back in Tomobiki...**_

" _ **SHINOBU-CHAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!**_ "

Miyake Shinobu jolted on hearing that horrified shriek, then she looked to her right to see a wide-eyed raven-haired girl in stylish clothing run up to her, she leading a small gang of her classmates from the Shakkō Private Vocational Institute in neighbouring Niiza towards the ranks of "militia" that had formed up to stop the attack on the Moroboshi home. "Yumi-chan!" Shinobu called out, waving automatically on recognizing Hyōga Yumi, a former kindergarten and elementary school classmate who had moved on to the vocational college after she entered middle school to follow her father Hyōga Jun'ichi into architectural design. Much to Shinobu's private relief, her fellow "Rosebud" was accompanied by the Nobushige twins Tazuna and Katsumi, Terran-form Avalonian daughters of two elderly observers who had been captured by the Noukiites after the Liberation and resettled on Tengsei. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were attending summer school classes!"

"What are YOU doing?!" the raven-haired beauty with the dark brown eyes demanded as she flashed a wary look at the rifle now being held in her old classmate's hand, the buttstock resting on Shinobu's hip. "Why on Earth are...?"

"Yumi-san," Katsumi said as she pointed up Kita-Teibō 4-dōri.

Yumi looked...

...then she gaped at the piles of boys laid out on the street close to the new entrance to the Moroboshi home, weapons that clearly had to have come from Mendō Clan stores laid out nearby even if people were now streaming out of Ataru's expanded property to look over them. Among them were members of the Maidens of the People's Will in their Shintō shrine maiden robes. Seeing them made Yumi scowl. Among the members of the Rosebuds, Manabe Satoko's group were derisively named "Ataru's Stormtroopers" given their fanatic loyalty to the man for reasons that didn't make any sense. Try as people in Tomobiki might, no one had been able to break the Maidens from their passionate love of the man. "What the hell happened here?!" she demanded. "Much that I hate Megane and his idiots, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?!"

"She ain't in any trouble at all," a voice called out, making the visitors from Shakkō turn as Tabitha Walters came over to join them. As eyes danced over the grey-and-butternut clothes she now wore with the markings of a Confederate Army junior officer on her collars and sleeves, the stagecoach owner's daughter from Townville gave Yumi an intensive look, that making the other woman blush. She then glanced at Tazuna before winking in reassurance at her. "These dumb fools got possessed by demons, then attacked Ataru's nice plantation here 'cause they can't stand the fact that he's now bonded to Mizuho and Satomi. Given how much Mizuho loves huntin' slimy critters like that all the time, I can't blame the demons for doin' that, but they don't got any right to make lives miserable, even for single-minded fools like Tokiko's brother and his friends."

Yumi blinked, then she sighed as several of her friends moaned and the Nobushige twins shook their heads. While Shinobu's old classmate wasn't an Avalonian herself, she had been enticed by Tazuna on several occasions to do a body-swap; it was well known in Shakkō that the elder of the Nobushige twins had a deep crush on the school's unofficial student leader. And while Yumi didn't care at all for Moroboshi Ataru, she was just too scared of the man's darker side to try to do anything to make any sort of trouble for him. While she found it hard to believe that the characters of _Battle Royale_ had somehow been transported into this dimension during the Liberation to live again, she had seen classmates become Avalonians, even sensed it once when Tazuna had actually used her psionic powers to make the unofficial school leader of Shakkō believe.

"Demonic possession?" one of the girls then asked. She was Akane Yūra, Shinobu recognized; the fair-haired girl with the slender body had become Yumi's new best friend after they began attending Shakkō. "That's crazy!"

"In THIS town, Yūra-san?!" Katsumi demanded. "Especially with all the crap that Sakurambō had to handle until she got in Ataru-kun's way back in March?! I can believe it!" She gazed on Shinobu. "What did you do to them, Shinobu-san?"

She jerked her chin towards the unconscious boys nearby as police sirens echoed in the background. "Hit them with mesonium bullets to chase the demons out of them," Fujinami Ryūnosuke reported as she rested the barrel of her Henry against her shoulder. "They're not dead. Oi! Kazuo-san! Izumi-san! C'mere for a sec'!"

The Shakkō girls looked over, then they — even the Nobushige twins, both of whom now shared a lover in their classmate, Shiretoko Misaki — gasped in heart-stopping awe as the very handsome man about their physical age with the brooding dark eyes and the slicked-back black hair came over to join them, a look of casual disinterest on his hawkish face. Even dressed in quite stylish civilians, the Shiroiwa class' most successful player in _The Program_ still projected an aura of deadly danger that made the visitors from Niiza shudder even as they tried not to openly drool at how handsome he was. They then tensed on sensing the raven-haired, dark-eyed girl that was hanging close to him. The look on Kanai Izumi's face was one that spoke volumes even to the normal girls who had come to Tomobiki that day: " **The Boss is MINE! Hands off!** "

"Is there a problem, Ryūnosuke-san?" Kiriyama Kazuo asked in his normal flat voice, one that instantly reminded everyone not native of Nineteenth Century South Carolina of Moroboshi Negako's usual curt tones.

"Yeah! What's the plan for the idiot squad there?" Ryūnosuke asked, thumbing towards the unconscious Stormtroopers.

"They'll be shifted to the Mobile Science Station as soon as they're stabilized, Ryūnosuke-chan," Izumi reported with an amused smirk as she tried not to give into the urge to grasp Kazuo's hand; she had been warned off by his friends that he couldn't really tolerate physical contact at this time. "Sylia-chan suggested that. Given how much all the Daishi'cha want to all crawl into Ataru's boxer shorts, the sooner they get distracted by other men, the better it is for Mizuho and Satomi."

"'Daishi'cha'?!" Yūra asked.

"Our 'cousins' from Sagussa, Yūra-san," Katsumi explained. "Over a decade ago, just before Negako-sama's soul was forced into Ataru-kun's mind, he was invited by their Elder Mother to visit the planet and help them better learn how to emote. They became TOO loyal to him at the end, so they chose them to become their Daite'cha and first Daimon'cha when he became of age." As the other girls all gasped on hearing that — they were familiar enough with Sagussan terms that they knew what those words meant — the farmer's daughter from Phentax Fourteen added, "They got distracted due to some demonic attack on their planet that happened after Ataru-kun's visit, which is why it took them so long to get back together again with Ataru..."

"They can't be serious!" Yumi snapped.

"Yumi-chan!" Shinobu barked, causing her friend to wince. "Knock it off! Will you quit trying to blame Ataru for things he had no control over! That makes you almost as bad as Megane and his idiots are!" As Yumi indignantly squawked, insulted at that comparison to the leader of Lum's Stormtroopers, Ataru's former girlfriend and now sister-in-law sighed. "Look, I don't care for this as well either! Ataru deserves to be just with Mizuho-san and Satomi-san! He didn't deserve that bastard Kōsuke raping Paishu-san to make Ataru a father way too early in his life, to say anything of what dealing with Hensō did to him!"

"What about Mendō-san?!" Yūra shrilled.

"What about that dang fool carpetbagger?!" Tabitha snapped, causing the other girl to yelp as the stagecoach owner's daughter glared at her. "Y'all see all those guns there! That's all thanks to the rich fool you're all moonin' over! If it wasn't for Satoko and her friends up in the house, all the neighbours here would be probably visiting the doctor's office...if they didn't get taken to the damned MORTUARY from ricochets! Good folk in this town don't deserve to have that happen!"

"Excuse me..."

Everyone blinked, then they turned...

...before Shinobu groaned. "What do you want, Unbaba?!"

The tall, dark-skinned man who looked much more mature than he really was awked. "Hey! Chill, Shinobu-san!" Unbaba Tetsu said as he waved the shorter girl off; even if he was seen as the toughest thug in Tomobiki, he was no match for Ataru's former girlfriend when she was on a tear. "We just came down to check out what was goin' on down here! Haneko-chan was worried about what was happening with your brother-in-law and his new lovers!" A dry chuckle then escaped the dropout who had been reported to have been one of the meanest people to have attended Butsumetsu High before he decided he didn't care for all the "book learning" that didn't mean squat when it came to the realities of life, then dropped out in his freshman year. "After March, there's no way in hell that I'd want to rumble with Ataru, especially with that guyver trick of his!"

Hearing that and sensing that the man who often supported the Rosebuds when he was bored about something was being honest about it, Shinobu relaxed herself. "Well, if Ogin-sempai really wishes to know, Tetsu-san, we've got issues with demons possessing the boys from our school because they're too scared of Mizuho-san." As Tetsu and his companions, the Nyōke twins Hitori and Futari (popularly nicknamed the "Franken twins" due to their physical resemblance to the monster in Mary Shelley's famous 1818 novel), nodded in understanding — being street thugs, all three had developed a very keen sense of when it was the time to rumble and when it wasn't — Ataru's ex-girlfriend and now sister-in-law took a deep breath. "We're getting Megane and his fools sent up into space to get them clear of this town so they don't cause trouble again."

"What about Mendō?" Hitori demanded.

"We'll just have to give him a nice .44 headache!"

Eyes locked on Tabitha. Sensing immediately that this scrawny girl with the obvious American native ancestry was strong enough to take all three of them down without sweating, Tetsu and the twins all chuckled...

...before the sounds of a car driving their way echoed from the direction of Tomobiki High School. Everyone turned to look, then Tabitha smirked. "Oh, my! The chief carpetbagger himself! Maybe we should'a worn white cloaks!"

The other Amazons on the scene all snickered on hearing that while those who were knowledgeable about the American Civil War and its aftermath rolled their eyes in dark amusement. Much that none of them would even support something as ghastly as the Ku Klux Klan, they could understand the symbolism the native of Townville wanted to project. Seeing a "carpetbagger" like Mendō Shūtarō brought down low by a _**lynch mob**_ — especially one composed of very beautiful women — would do more to wreck the man's sense of control and influence than anything Moroboshi Ataru could have done. As some of the visitors from Shakkō looked wary at the idea of the scion of Japan's richest family coming to confront girls with guns and the know-how to use them, Shinobu could only shake her head. She could easily sense what was on Mendō's mind right now. He had gladly allowed Megane and his friends to take weapons that were originally meant for civil defence emergencies to carry out a blatant attack on innocent people just because Ataru and his family had been kind enough to arrange for those people to have a safe roof over their heads. Shinobu knew that Ataru would have done that even if he hadn't bonded with Inada Mizuho and Noda Satomi; his sympathy towards all the cast of _Battle Royale_ would have demanded no less from the man.

The Steyr command car came to a stop close to the street intersection, then Mendō stormed out. " _ **SHINOBU-SAN! RYŪNOSUKE-SAN! LADIES! ARE YOU ALL INSANE?!**_ " he shrieked, making Yumi and the non-Avalonian students of Shakkō who were present there instantly shudder on seeing the anguished horror on his face while girls like Tazuna and Katsumi just shook their heads at the useless theatrics. " _ **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!**_ "

"We put a stop to YOUR attempt at trying to kill innocent people, Mendō-san!" Shinobu snarled as she stormed over to bury her fist into his gut, making the scion of Japan's richest family croak as the air was forced out of his lungs and he dropped to his knees. "Don't lie and say this was something you had the city council sanction! There's no way in hell that even all your family's flunkies in City Hall would ever do anything to defy the wishes of the _**Heavenly Sovereign**_!"

" _ **HE WAS LIED TO! MOROBOSHI'S BEEN DECEIVING EVERYONE...!**_ "

"Hey, boy!"

Mendō jolted, then turned...

...to find himself facing the gaping muzzle of a Model 1860 lever rifle.

"Shut up," Annabelle Maxwell snarled...

...before the weapon discharged, sending a meson-tipped bullet into the forehead of her target! As the girls who still passionately supported Mendō screamed in horror on seeing the deacon's daughter from Pendleton do that, Tabitha looked a little disappointed. "What the dang hell took you so long, Belle?!" the stagecoach owner's daughter then wryly asked.

Belle sighed as she cocked her weapon's lever to eject the spent casing. "No one will ever call ME a coward, Tabitha!"

Hearing that made the other Amazons nod in understanding...

* * *

 _ **Mizumoto Park...**_

"Oh, shit...!" Ataru hissed out.

* * *

 _ **Back in Tomobiki...**_

" _ **HOW COULD YOU?!**_ "

Belle perked before her hand shot up to catch Yumi's fist before it got close to striking the deacon's daughter. The architect's daughter jolted on seeing that her punch had been intersected before she croaked as Belle's fingers squeezed tight, driving Yumi to her knees. Before the other non-Avalonian Shakkō girls could move to help their leader, Tazuna and Katsumi drew their Lawgivers from purses and shifted themselves into position to protect their new sister while several of the Tomobiki girls also levelled their rifles at them. Seeing that made the visitors from Niiza squawk in betrayal on seeing how much their "allies" were willing to support such an attack on the scion of Japan's richest family. Before someone could scream out, though...

 _ **DAMN YOU, SAGUSSAN! YOU WILL NOT HAVE EARTH! EARTH IS OURS!**_

The visitors from Niiza howled as a ghostly apparition surged out from Mendō's stilled body, causing him to convulse as his driver screamed in horror on seeing that the Young Master had been possessed. Said ghost then transformed into some warped Oni version of the scion of Japan's richest family, who instantly spun on Belle, the naked rage on his face enough to make Yumi howl in fright as she ducked behind the deacon's daughter. As Mendō's driver moved to protect his unconscious master from the creature that just surged up from his body, shouts from nearby make people look towards the Jōgenmon to see more such ghostly creatures rise from the bodies of Lum's Stormtroopers and their friends. Like the being that just emerged from the scion of Japan's richest family, those other ghosts looked like Oni-Urusian versions of people like Megane.

" **Who cares what LESSER beings like YOU think.** "

Hearing that metal-tinged voice echo from nearby, all the girls present save the members of the Amazons all screamed in relief as the ghostly creatures howled in outrage at that insult. _**DAMN YOU, MOROBOSHI!**_ the Oni Mendō howled as the other ghosts surged towards him, making the young men they had possessed all shiver as the creatures tried to draw on whatever life force they could from the Terrans. _**YOU WILL NOT DENY EARTH TO THE EMPIRE, YOU MONSTER!**_

"Get them to the Mobile Science Station!" Manabe Satoko screamed out.

The others of the Maidens of the People's Will howled their acknowledgement at that command, then levelled their _haijo-ju_ at the unconscious Terrans. In flashes of energy, the boys all disappeared, making the ghostly creatures that had possessed them shriek in agony as they felt the links they had forged over the last several months be severed once the Terrans were teleported millions of kilometres away from Earth's biosphere. As they all convulsed from the loss of so much spiritual power, darkness then seemed to surge up from the street close to where Mendō's command car had been parked. That made people freeze as the inky blackness then merged and melted into a gold-trimmed black form-fitting jumpsuit with a gold Sagussan windrider on the chest of Moroboshi Ataru's body...but with well over half his physical mass now replaced by almost-black metal cybernetics that seemed to chill the very air they touched: The whole of the left leg from mid-thigh, the right leg from below the knee, the whole right arm and the right side of the thorax and upper abdomen, the left arm from below the elbow and his face save for the area around his right eye, it pierced by a glowing left eye. Walking out of the teleportation circle that Willow Rosenberg had forged to get him here from Katsushika, the Cyborg tilted his jaw down in an imitation of a smirk.

" **Did you believe you can run away from MY master, LESSERS?** "

The creatures all screamed in terror as black energy billowed up from the ground to surge towards them. _**YOU WILL NOT WIN, SAGUSSAN! EARTH IS OURS! IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OURS! WE WILL DESTROY YOU LESSERS ONCE AND FOR ALL! THE EMPIRE WILL RISE AGAIN!**_ the Oni Mendō howled in defiance before he croaked as the darkness seemed to bind him down, trapping him and his friends before the dark creature that was now walking slowly towards them.

Ataru shook his head as he held out his hands, allowing rod-like structures to eject from under the windrider-shaped vambraces he had protecting his lower arms. " **Ladies, would you care to partake?** " he asked in a very formal voice.

"Nice of you to invite us in, A-man!"

From the darkness surged four grinning women in modern combat uniforms. Seeing that, Belle shifted Yumi back as Faith Lehane and Matsudaira Satsuko seized two of the rods Ataru was offering. Touching them, the Slayers hissed as knowledge was copied into their minds, then the rods melted into burning energy blades — a katana for Satsu, a claymore broadsword for Faith — that made the natives of Tomobiki gasp in shock on realizing that the last host of Imperial Special Agent #49 had just literally _**programmed**_ these two girls with knowledge on how to use the most deadly attack form of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū.

The _**soulsword**_.

"Now... _ **SQUEAL**_!" the Bostonian snarled as she lunged at the Oni Mendō.

He howled something in what the Cyborg recognized as Urusian as the other Slayers who came with Faith and Satsu, Caridad Ramírez and Lisa Cabasa, grabbed the other rods to teach themselves how to use soulswords. Instantly, the four demonically-augmented Terrans-turned-Avalonians got to work, chopping away with abandon as the ghostly creatures all screamed their defiance at the impudent "lessers" moving to defy the will of the Urusian Empire. Watching this, the normal Terrans from Niiza could only shake their heads in horror. "What are they?!" Akane Yūra demanded. "I thought Oni didn't believe in religion!"

"They are onryō, Mistress Yūra," a familiar woman's voice said as the darkness that had allowed the Slayers to teleport from Katsushika was dispersed to reveal Inada Mizuho, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. As the crimson-haired wiccan got to work moving to purify the street to further cut whatever mystical links existed between these things and the wa of Tomobiki itself and the carpenter who had been the normal member of the original Scooby Gang stood close by to protect his childhood friend, the would-be warrior-priestess from another dimension slipped her arm around her lover's. "Spirits of vengeance formed from the souls of the pirates my beloved slew on the Ides of March, then merged with our male peers, hoping to attack Ataru when he least expected it. Given the sheer levels of magic infused in everything here, they were able to stay 'alive' until they gained the strength necessary to effectively turn Master Shūtarō and the others into perfect puppets."

"Part of that strength was driven by desperation," Willow added as Faith cored out the heart of the ghostly creature that had possessed Mendō with her soulsword. "Mizuho has quite the reputation in magical circles when it comes to fighting demons of all stripes. Once she bonded with Ataru — the mortal avatar of the _**Herald of All Endings**_ — they knew their time was up!"

"That's horrible..." Yumi hissed out, she continuing to cower behind Belle.

" **It's a fact of life for us now, Yumi** ," Ataru calmly stated before he allowed the cold fire to return him back to normal. Slipping an arm around Mizuho's shoulders, he then leaned in to kiss her warmly on the lips.

As many people seeing this all cheered at that sight, Yumi looked over to where Miyake Shinobu was standing. Stunned to see the content look on her oldest friend's face, the raven-haired Shakkō sophomore walked over to stand close to Ataru's former girlfriend, pointing at the scene of him kissing another woman quite passionately in public. "Aren't you jealous of that?!"

Shinobu sighed. "I know now what being jealous of something I can't influence would ultimately lead me to, Yumi."

She turned and walked up towards the Jōgenmon, leaving a wide-eyed and confused Yumi behind. By then, the final onryō was destroyed thanks to Lisa hacking its head off, making it scream out before it dispersed into nothingness. As the darkness that had held the vengeance spirits also dispersed, the Slayers all looked around before they allowed their soulswords to disperse. They tensed on sensing something coming from the Moroboshi home. "Hey, Teach!" Faith called out...

...before she awked as Moroboshi Negako's fingers grabbed her by the earlobe, then twisted, driving the Bostonian to her knees. "That was grossly inefficient, Faith," the ninjutsu grandmaster coldly stated, making the other Slayers and Willow wince on hearing that curt tone from her. "You were granted that knowledge to aid you in your duties. When you draw a soulsword, slay your target then and there. Do not waste energy that could see innocents killed. Understood?"

"Y-y-yes, m-m-ma'am...!" Faith sputtered.

"Give me a little time with them, Negako. I can get them fixed up."

Hearing that from the Pirpirsiw'r who had just been teleported in by Xander's lover Anya Jenkins, Negako nodded as she released Faith. "Do so, Priscilla. If I learn of such improper behaviour in the future, I will remove that knowledge from them."

As Faith winced and the other Slayers shuddered on hearing that threatening pronouncement, Asagiri Priss smirked before she turned to salute Ataru, making people blink. "Major Thornbridge's sincerest compliments, My Daite'cha," she said, causing the visitors from Niiza to gasp on realizing this strange woman with the tanned skin that made her seem Yehisrite was one of the fabled Daishi'cha of Sagussa, beings who were both respected and reviled by Avalonians for reasons that were unknown to most Terrans at this time. "She will be shifting her base camp to Tomobiki and wishes to know if your invitation to come live with you here is still open. Given what just happened to Thoughtmistress Yū, the major fears for her safety."

"The invitation is always open, Master Chief," Ataru stated. "Tell the major she is at liberty to protect those under her charge from any agent of MBI that seek to capture Yū-san, Shiina-kun and Kana-chan. Any move to force them into the custody of people who aren't fit to be their ashikabi would be in defiance of the Heavenly Sovereign's decree concerning the sekirei."

Priss curtly nodded. "I'll pass that on right away."

"Arigatō."

That made some of the people listening to this shudder...

* * *

 _ **The Moroboshi home, lunchtime...**_

"So...what is this, anyway?"

"It's cush."

The visitors from Niiza blinked before they gazed on the fried cornmeal cakes mixed with vegetables and meat that had been served by a smiling Ellie Reese. "'Cush'?" Yumi asked before she took a hesitant bite of what she had been served.

The station master from Belton smiled as some of the others quickly dug in. "Yeah," Ellie stated as she tried not to shudder too much as the many incredible sensations of her new bioroid body bombarded her mind. Like Annabelle Maxwell, the first sergeant of the Anderson County Amazons had elected to undergo a body-swap when those of her company who had already become Avalonians went out to support the girls of Tomobiki High against the boys who had tried to attack the house earlier. "Since food was kinda scarce in places on occasion, we had to make do with what we had. Soldiers in the field ate this all the time. Cornmeal's good for filling up your stomach and keeping you going when you don't have supplies..."

"Which were in very low quantity at times," Bridget Moore noted. Like her friend, the tavern owner's daughter from Pendleton had crossed over when her mates went to fight the demons possessing the idiot boys who just couldn't accept the fact that Moroboshi Ataru was determined to live his life the way he chose to live it and not bow to peer pressure from anyone save his chosen wives. _Does he have Mormon ancestry somewhere?_ Bridget then wondered as she gazed at him while he was being fed by a smirking Inada Mizuho from a plate provided to them by Nakagawa Yūka. "A lot of our missions after we got turned was to go on raids into Yankee territory to steal food and bring it down south so the normal soldiers wouldn't starve. Damn blockade the Yankee navy was unleashing on us really made things hard for a lot of people in the Confederacy then."

People nodded before they dug into the food that had just been cooked by the station master's daughter with help from the unofficial kitchen troupe of _Program_ players put in charge of feeding everyone by Nakagawa Noriko. "We'll have something good for everyone once Rachel-san and her friends get here," Ataru stated from his place near the north end of the recreation room, flanked by his lovers. Much to the surprise of the Shakkō girls, Noda Satomi was breast-feeding her bond-mate's daughter. Having just returned with their belongings from Redet Trosan's flagship an hour before, Redet Paishu's handmaids were also there enjoying this quaint meal with their new friends from South Carolina. Much to Ataru's personal amusement, members of Leslie Comstock's troop of Pathfinders were shamelessly flirting with the exotic-looking natives of Dominos; he was personally relieved that the troop sergeant of the group, Sibilla Lucchesi, was taking personal interest in the youngest daughter of the leader of the Seifukusu Dominion. "Gods only know, you girls deserve it after all the hell you've been through."

That made the South Carolinians blush madly at that show of support from their current host...

* * *

Now standing by the west side of the recreation room near the northeast corner of the old guest house where Ataru's sister Hiromi and her family resided, Akane Yūra could only shake her head in bewilderment at what was going on right now. She still found it hard to accept the fact that so many girls from so many different races and cultures actually found _**Moroboshi Ataru**_ of all the men in the Universe attractive. With the sheer amount of scorn the man had received from many quarters over the last year, it was inconceivable to her that ANY woman would want to see the man as a potential love interest.

Yet...

Her caramel eyes fell on Inada Mizuho and Noda Satomi. Yes, both were bound to him as marei'cha, but why on Earth would either of them want a man like _Ataru_ of all people? Mizuho was classical grace personified, matched to religious fervour when it came to her adopted faith that would scare the hell out of any of the followers of Usāmah bin Lādin. Mated to the power of the ancient battle staff she had won control of during the Liberation, she was virtually an unstoppable force of Nature made human flesh. Satomi was quite intelligent in her own right, clearly the brains of all the Shiroiwa girls. Yes, she had panicked in the Oki-shima lighthouse when Sakaki Yūko tried to poison Nanahara Shūya, but her calm composure after Paishu asked her to nurse her daughter — something considered tradition among Seifukusu females of high ranking to ensure that the child would inherit the spiritual strengths of all women whose breast milk the baby drank — had made Yūra goggle in awe.

And yet...

Yet both of them...

They wanted...?

«You appear vexed about something, Mistress Yūra.»

She gasped on hearing that voice echo in her mind, then she looked over to see Mizuho gazing knowingly at her. Her cheeks then flared as she turned away, hoping that she didn't act in such a way that would have everyone looking at her. «Calm yourself,» the would-be warrior-priestess stated. «Go into the dōjō and relax yourself. I'll meet you there in a moment.»

Hearing that, Yūra blinked before she nodded, then she walked through the old recreation room into the hallway that led into the Moroboshi family dōjō. Entering the large room, she stopped and bowed to the dōjō spirit before looking around the space. She was surprised to see that there were none of the usual furniture and other things that would go into a martial arts training hall such as a kamiza with accompanying kamidana, much less the kanban that serves as the visual authorization of the teachers who worked here to instruct students in their art. Yūra then sighed as she remembered that Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū was a family art, shared only among the members of Ataru's extended clan. Sighing, she then moved to sit close to the main entrance, gazing outside onto the small courtyard that was still there even if the gate to the old Moroboshi home had been removed and relocated over two blocks away to the southwest after all the neighbouring properties had been bought up.

"Why, aren't you just the prettiest thing...?"

Gasping on hearing that statement, Yūra's head snapped over...

...then she gaped in wide-eyed awe on seeing darkness rise from the ground nearby before it melted into the sight of a girl about her age dressed in Confederate grey and butternut, a corporal's two buff gold chevrons on her upper arms. She was a slender girl with dirty blonde hair parted over the left eye and cascading down to past her shoulders, grey-blue eyes peeking out of a square-shaped face. Her cheeks were now quite red as she gazed upon Yūra, which instantly made the other girl wonder if this person had just undergone a body-swap. "Um...who are you?" the native of Niiza hesitantly asked.

"Edith Moore," the native of Powdersville stated as she stepped into the genkan, then deftly removed her shoes before bowing formally in the Western manner to the dōjō spirit. Much to Yūra's surprise, she then sat beside the other girl. "Whoo! That was quite the ride over from Katsushika! Lucky thing my nightmare isn't so scared of those motorized horseless carriages you folk use these days! Coming down that turnpike that goes around this big city of yours, those things were practically piled up on each other worse than any wagon train or railroad I ever saw back in my day. Lucky thing I was able to jump over those turnpike gates at the turnoff to Mejiro Street without causing too much of a fuss; I didn't have any money to pay for the tolls."

Yūra gaped. "You rode down the _**Tōkyō Gaikan Expressway**_?!"

"Of course! It was the best way to get here and avoid all those crowds downtown!"

That made the Shakkō sophomore shake her head. "You weren't seen?!"

"I'm a vampire even if I'm a golem now! Being invisible is an easy trick for me!"

Both gazed at each other, then Yūra giggled, making Edith laugh. "Akane Yūra," the former then said, offering her hand.

Edith took it in both her hands, then she turned the appendage and gently placed a kiss on the knuckles, which made Yūra blush madly at that. A snicker then echoed from beyond the doorway. "Edith! Stop that! You're not a crystal-blood yet!"

"So?!" Edith teased back as she looked out the doorway.

More laughter came as darkness then swelled from the ground, shifting immediately to allow a woman with raven hair to appear, she also dressed as a cavalry corporal serving the South in the Late Unpleasantness. Yūra was quick to see that she was more mature than Edith, her face projecting a smoky look that made the Niiza native instantly think of Sōma Mitsuko or her effective counterpart from the Kōbe class, Hakufu Kimiko. Her face was a little more fleshed out that Edith's, it pierced by pale grey eyes under reading glasses, which instantly made Yūra think of hentai manga and dōjinshi she read depicting naughty librarians being seduced by both shy boys and cute girls. "Miss Yūra, this is my best friend, Cora McCown. She's from Centerville," Edith said as she moved to do introductions. "Cora, this here's Akane Yūra. She's one of Ataru's friends."

Yūra yelped. "Wait! Ataru-kun's not my friend!"

"Then what are you doing here?!" Cora asked as she slipped off her own shoes, then bowed to the dōjō spirit before she sat down on the other side of the Niiza native from her fellow trooper. "You're not here to cause trouble, are you?"

Yūra awked. "No! I mean...!"

"Calm yourselves, ladies," a strange voice then called out, making Yūra relax as she thanked the gods for this intervention. "Mistress Yūra here is one of the many girls here who have long been entranced by Mendō Shūtarō."

"That carpetbagger that Belle shot down a couple hours ago, right?" Cora asked as Mizuho came over to sit down beside them, the Staff of Gihan floating close by in case the would-be warrior-priestess had need of it. "That stupid rich fool who's been playing with the hearts of almost all the girls in this town while he was still wanting to take Miss Hensō away from Ataru, like them 'stormtrooper' fellows that started that whole mess down by the south gate to this plantation?!"

As Yūra squawked in outrage on hearing those words used to describe Mendō, Mizuho nodded. "Aye, the very same one, Lady Cora," the native of another dimension's Shiroiwa affirmed. "Fret not about him, Mistress Yūra. He's in good hands now with our Sagussan friends. They have some of the finest healers known. They'll ensure the onryō who tried to possess him to press on their lost empire's goals will be permanently exorcised from his body before returning him to Earth."

That made Yūra blink before she relaxed. "Thank the gods...!"

Mizuho then smirked. Much that she did understand why Mendō Shūtarō was so attractive to so many people in his age bracket in Tomobiki, she had to make sure that the attitudes that had driven the members of his chief fan club among the girls of this city had to be changed. "Of course, given how lonely the Daishi'cha are, I suspect many of them will do as Mistress Anna has long desired and will seek intimate company with him," she added, making Yūra scream in shock.

The two South Carolinians gazed her way, both looking confused. "Why are you interested in that fella?" Edith then asked. "After all the trouble he's caused today — even if he was possessed by some devil — who'd want to be with him?!"

"He's not like that!" Yūra hissed out. "Mendō-san is kind...!"

"Of course he would appear to be to you and your peers," Mizuho stated as she gazed tranquilly at the other girl. "Yet he only does such because he was raised to believe all was his for the asking, that nothing would ever be denied him. No different than what the Lady Lum — and Mistress Hensō after that awful event five years ago saw their very souls exchange bodies — was raised to believe by her parents." As the native of Niiza hissed on hearing that, the native of Shiroiwa added, "Of course, given how wealthy he is, he would seem even more attractive to people such as yourself; it's a guarantee of security for a prospective wife. But did any of you know that before she bonded with his sister, Lady Mizunokōji Asuka was meant to be Master Shūtarō's WIFE?!" As Yūra awked, the would-be warrior-priestess sighed. "You did not. Not surprising."

"How could Mendō-san want that girl?!" Yūra snapped. "She's a monster!"

Mizuho shrugged. "I doubt he really did want her even after she was seen as safe to be among normal people. Given that he was effectively heartbroken on hearing the truth about Hensō, plus was outraged at the fact that Ataru went to such lengths to prevent Hensō and her friends from returning to Earth to plague good people here anew like they had done before Yule just last, he didn't really care about anything save trying to restore things to what he perceived as 'normal'. That left him vulnerable to the onryō that possessed him. After I bonded with my beloved, that daēva pushed him to the limits. But he could not do such unless Shūtarō was _**willing**_ to go that far to see his own goals achieved. That is what attracts a daēva to a potential target." Her eyes then narrowed. "You can become a target as well, Lady Yūra. Would you desire that?"

Yūra awked. "M-m- _ **me**_...?!"

"Aye, you. And your friends from Niiza." The would-be warrior-priestess then sighed. "Yūra, I do not wish to force such upon you. It is fundamentally wrong in the long term. But as we are speaking, members of my beloved's class are now texting all the female students of Tomobiki High School. Guaranteed that within a day, two at the outset, every woman associated with that school will become Avalonians. Once that happens, the daēva that have haunted the lives of people in that school will want to seek out new targets. After all, they are being 'defied' by 'mere mortals', which offends their sensibilities greatly."

A shudder ran through the other girl. "L-like m-me...?"

"Like all the Rosebuds."

Yūra paled as that message sank in. "I care not what you think of my beloved," Mizuho then stated. "But I will not tolerate anyone who dares threaten him for any reason. Look what has happened. We've dealt with Ataru's witless parents. His father is now in Hachiōji. Thanks to the Sagussans, we have rid ourselves of that abusive mother of his. That saves Satomi some ammunition for her Peacemaker." As Yūra gargled on hearing that unspoken threat from a woman who had undergone _The Program_ of all things, Mizuho smirked. "Now that we've won alliances with the Noukiites, any of the fool aliens who loved to haunt this town have been effectively driven away. What happened on the Ides of March was broadcast across the local cluster; no one in the Wise Lord's Heavens would dare challenge Ataru in the wake of such. And you've just seen what we'll do to the daēva who love to disrupt people's lives here. If I could be guaranteed that you and your friends wouldn't be targeted by Mujaki or any of the oni who loved to drive poor Hensō on to new levels of oppression when it came to my beloved, I would leave you alone. But I cannot." Her eyes narrowed. "You've been offered the chance to become an Avalonian before."

Blinking, Yūra nodded. "Y-yeah, by K-k-Katsumi-chan..."

"Then let it be done. With my friend's help, it can be done in mere minutes. It will make Lady Katsumi and the other Avalonians now attending Shakkō feel all the safer around you. Does her friendship mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does!"

Mizuho smirked. "Then what are you doing sitting there?"

Yūra jolted, then her fists squeezed together as determination crossed her face...

* * *

 _ **Gestation Tower #98 aboard the Avalon bioroid factory, fifteen minutes later...**_

"Ah, food! Thanks, Mizuho-chan!"

"Fret not about such things, Shūya!" Mizuho said as she placed the bentō boxes made by Nakagawa Yūka down on the work table close to the gestation unit that had created her own body months before. "I trust all is well with you and Katako?"

"What do you think?" Nanahara Shūya asked; he was seated at the main control station in the centre of the room.

Seeing this, Yūra was quick to note Shūya's girlfriend Tsukamoto Katako giving him a shy smile. As both Cora McCown and Edith Moore took a moment to take in the incredible technology around them, the gentle _whoosh!_ of an internal turbolift heralded the arrival of the other couple that came to the tower to keep an eye on things for the next half-day. "Ah! It's about time; we are quite starved," Oda Toshinori said as he and his girlfriend Yamaguchi Shiroko stepped out of the car. The young violinist from Shiroiwa then perked on noting the two girls in grey and butternut there, along with a girl in trendy modern clothing. "New friends, Mizuho-san?" the scion of one of Shiroiwa's wealthiest families then asked.

"Indeed so," Mizuho said before doing introductions.

Much to the delight of both Cora and Edith, the diminutive man in the very stylish clothes was well-trained in proper Western courtesies. "Most honoured, ladies," Toshinori said after courtly kissing their hands as his girlfriend moved to get bentō for them both. "I hear it's been quite the shock for all of you adjusting to this day and age, never mind what that scoundrel Golden did to you all, both back during the Civil War and just recently when he wanted you to fight again."

"Well, it ain't all that bad, Mister Toshinori," Edith stated, making him blink in surprise. "I'm no plantation girl, sir. My pa owned the general store down in Powdersville. Cora's pa was a farmer who owned a small spread near Centerville."

Toshinori nodded. "Hai," he said as the tomboyish girl who had fallen head-over-heels for him after his rebirth came over to squeeze his shoulder in support. They gazed on each other, then shared a warm kiss, which made the two South Carolinians beam at the sight of such an open expression of love. "Forgive me, ladies. Before the _Program_ , I was the effective equivalent of a plantation owner's son from your time. I've never really cared to deal with other people not of my social class; this is not so different from the attitudes of your own state and time period, especially among the landed gentry there."

"Well, you certainly grew out of it," Cora noted as she watched Mizuho point the Staff of Gihan towards three of the huge tanks carrying their incomplete cargoes submerged in that strange orange fluid that filled the tanks to the brim. After a flash of energy from the powerful weapon in the would-be warrior-priestess' hand, the fluid began to boil as the pale skin of the incomplete bioroids began to morph into something alive. "Damn! Is that how all crystal-bloods are born?"

"Among Avalonians, yes," Mizuho stated. "Normal templation takes an hour or so dependant on one's body size and the level of alterations needed to conform with what is desired. Since Sagussans and Terrans are quite similar when it comes to body structure, it shan't take long for your new bodies to be completed and ready. Shōgo had Olivia's new body prepared in ten minutes once he sensed those daēva-worshipping hit-wizards seeking to kill her early on Tuesday morning."

"Hope Miss Willow finds the rest of those stupid idiots," Cora snarled. "I wouldn't mind riding through the plantations owned by those so-called 'purebloods' and give them a little hell for trying to come after us like that!"

"I'm sure those who support your right to live your lives free will soon make such fools understand there are certain lines never to be crossed, Lady Cora," Mizuho said with a knowing smile crossing her face.

Her friends from Shiroiwa and Ziegler's Cove all blinked in confusion...

* * *

 _ **Williamsburg in Virginia (fifty-five kilometres southeast of Richmond), that moment (Local time: Tuesday 20 July, a half-hour before midnight)...**_

" _ **AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

The sickly green beam of the Killing Curse leapt out of Paul Steward's wand towards the chest of the rather tall man in the dark clothes, his wavy brown-black hair parted over the left eye and a thick yet well-trimmed moustache over his face, that pierced by a pair of greyish-blue eyes. However, much to the horror of one of the more conservative leaders in America's magical government, the bolt did nothing save singe his button shirt. Given the sheer level of physical damage the man had done with both his mind and his sword to the hidden magical mansion located near the site where the Wizengamot of old British North America once resided in the years before the American Revolution, the fact that the ultimate dark spell known to European wand-wizards didn't bother this being seemed not so surprising to Steward's wide-eyed daughter Isolt; the fourth year member of Pukwudgie House had instantly cowered behind a couch when this man had stormed into the Steward home, mentally blasting aside the small legion of house elves that the richest magical family in the Commonwealth of Virginia owned to keep the property clean and safe from the no-majs who were slowly encroaching on the land from all sides.

"That was a waste of your magic, Mister Steward," the newcomer stated with the soft tones of old Virginia as he walked towards the current president pro tempore of the Magical Congress, clearly not bothered at all by what had just been tried on him. "Just as your own ancestors learned the hard way when they defied Mister Lincoln during that so-called 'great Sasquatch rebellion' in 1892. Do not waste my time anymore, sir. Your blatant actions against those who were spiritually under my overall command many years ago will not be tolerated anymore, to say anything of your continued moved to foster unrest among the magicals of this land. I will not tolerate it anymore as much as the President will not tolerate it!"

That made Steward explode as his magic seemed to boil all around him. " _ **HOW DARE YOU IMPLY THE NO-MAJS ARE SUPERIOR TO US, YOU FREAK?!**_ " he roared as his magic poured into his wand. " _ **AVADA KEDAVRA!**_ "

This time, the attacker's shiny cavalry sabre — which, Isolt was quick to see, was coated in a beautiful sheath of ruby mesonium that gave the deadly blade a noticeably crimson hue akin to spilled blood — effortlessly parried the shot, sending it into the ceiling of the reception room. As Steward screamed in anger on seeing that the newcomer was still alive and advancing on him, Isolt shuddered as she drew her own wand and levelled it on her father. " _ **STUPEFY!**_ "

The stun shot slammed into him just under the floating ribs by his liver, making him croak in shock before he collapsed to the floor. His wand rolled out of his hand, that being stopped by the stranger's boot. Quite startled by such an action from Steward's daughter, the newcomer looked over to see the shuddering teenager lower her own wand, shaking her head in disbelief as a look of shame crossed her face; learning the truth of what had brought this incredible metahuman to this place had badly rocked the blood descendant of one of the founders of Ilvermorny and one of the founders of Hogwarts. "I didn't know...!" she whispered as she gazed up with tear-filled eyes upon the newcomer. "How could he even think of hurting those girls, sir?! If the Friend of Dragons has taken them under her protection, doesn't that mean they're good people?!"

"Yes, Miss Inada does have the remarkable ability to sense one's inner goodness thanks to the power God gifted her through that staff of hers," the older man said as he calmly sheathed his sabre, then walked over to gently help her to her feet, making her blush at the gentleness of his touch. "You did a very brave thing just now, Miss Steward. I'm sure the passion shown by magical law enforcement because you are still underage will not see you condemned for what you just did."

A passionate smirk crossed the teenager's face. "I'm a Pukwudgie for a reason, sir!"

That made his bushy eyebrow arch in considerable amusement. Gazing upon him, Isolt felt her own cheeks heat as she imagined what being close to this man might be like. Even if she was the daughter of one of America's oldest magical families and was expected to behave in a certain way, she was also a fifteen year-old teenager who often interacted with normal-born wizards and witches who were up-to-date on all the cool and hip things normal Americans her age liked. This nice man with the beautiful voice appeared to be in his early thirties even if he moved as if he was freshly graduated from whatever high school he might have attended; there was an aura of dynamic vitality that burst from every point on his body. His mentioning the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892 and the famous Rail-Splitter made Isolt realize this nice fellow here had also been visited sometime ago by the Undying Lord and made effectively immortal thanks to mesonium injected into his blood.

"My wand's been augmented as well," she added with a playful wink. "Even got it past the prefects at Ilvermorny."

He gazed at her beautiful magical focus, then he chuckled, nodding in approval. Like a certain former president of the United States, the native of Westmoreland County in the Northern Neck region on the southern shores of the Potomac didn't really care for the horrid isolationist attitudes that still haunted American magicals even now, years after Rappaport's Law was finally done away with. "Ah, I see you've made the acquaintance of some of our new Avalonian countrywomen."

"Three of my classmates got body-swaps," she asserted. "All of us visited a meson glass-maker in Hampton to get them fixed during spring break; that's when Darcie, Kelley and Miranda elected to go all the way."

His eyebrow arched. "Caroline Montross' shop overlooking the Roads?"

"Same place!"

A chuckle escaped him. "That's where I got my sword augmented as well," he stated...

...before a chorus of popping sounds echoed through the room. "Mistress Isolt!" the eldest of the nearly platoon's worth of house elves, Manby, cried out in relief before she froze as her eyes turned up, her body quaking in terror at the sight of this nigh-immortal being that had just stormed into her master's home as if he was taking a morning constitutional.

"Leave him be, Manby!" Isolt snapped. "He came here to stop a crime! Now, when the aurors come, you'll make sure they're able to scan through everything here. I'll be entertaining our guest in the drawing room."

The house elves blinked, then they nodded. "Master did a crime?!" one of Isolt's personal servants, Janny, timidly asked.

"He did," the older man declared. "Volunteer soldiers who were once under my overall command during the late civil war have fallen under the protection of Madame Inada Mizuho. Miss Steward's father and his allies are effectively trying to provoke a magical war against the Eight Commanderies of Japan — which will no doubt soon involve the Moroboshi Clan and their allies — by launching attacks on Japanese soil against the members of Major Rachel Thornbridge's volunteer company of cavalry."

The house elves gasped. "Master Paul said they were evil!" Manby stated.

"No, they were not, madame. The truly evil ones are mostly dead and destroyed. One, however, still seems to think he can provoke things as his principal tried to do in 1861 when he persuaded good people throughout the South to accept secession."

Hearing that made Isolt blink as she gazed in confused curiosity at her guest...

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTES**

1) _Yatsura_ and _The Senior Year_ character and situation notes:

The fact that **Miyake Shinobu** is a Roman Catholic was firmly established in the _TSY_ story "Shinobu: Futures Imperfect". Since there are so few Japanese Catholics in central Honshū — the majority of those who follow that faith live in Kyūshū, mostly in and around Nagasaki — it makes sense that the Miyake family would be a member of the congregation directly administered by the headquarters of the **Archdiocese of Tōkyō** , which is based at **Saint Mary's Cathedral** in Bunkyō Ward.

 **Inu Chigaiko** first appeared in the _TSY_ story "Darling's Secret Date".

 **Arakida Yui** is my name for the girl who wished to get a boyfriend in the manga story "The Bluebird of Happiness" (manga chapter #280). She first appears on page 4 of the manga, seated to the right. She dated Ataru in _Long Way Home_.

The **Stone-Body Shield Defence** (in Japanese, **Seki-jintai Kōkaku Bōbi** ) is a manoeuvre in Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū that allows a practitioner to focus her/his ki into every cell of her/his body, rendering it virtually as tough as battleship armour.

 **Hyōga Yumi** (the family name is my creation) first appeared in the anime episode "Goodbye Season" (anime episode #64). She is the raven-haired woman with the white beret from Shakkō that meets with Miyake Shinobu and the other members of the Rosebuds at the Dobu Salada ("Sewer Salad") restaurant in the latter half of the episode in response to what Ataru was supposedly doing (he was actually moving to resign his post as class iinchō). It was in that episode that **Unbaba Tetsu** and the **Franken Twins** also appeared; they served as the heavy muscle to the Rosebuds to force Ataru into not "quitting". The names **Nyōke Hitori** and **Nyōke Futari** for the Franken Twins are my creation.

 **Nobushige Tazuna** and her twin sister **Nobushige Katsumi** first appeared in _Long Way Home_. They're based on two characters from the two-part manga short "Twins" published by the adult manga artist/writer **Yamatogawa** in _Aqua Bless_ , first published in 2007; their family names are my creation. **Shiretoko Misaki** (whose family name is also my creation) is the name of the boy from "Twins" that Katsumi desires and Tazuna later seduces when Katsumi pretends to be her sister to seduce him first. **Akane Yūra** is also based on a character from that manga; she first appeared in the story "Travel and Love".

2) Many of the battles of the American Civil War have two "official" names for historical record. It was common for Northern press to name battles after the closest river, such as " **Bull Run** " (the first battle happening on 21 July 1861 and the second occurring on 28-30 August 1862) or " **Antietam** " (17 September 1862). In the South, such battles were named after the closest town, such as " **Manassas** " or " **Sharpsburg** " (the respective titles for the engagements noted above). When there was no river close by, Northern press did use town names such as " **Gettysburg** " (1-3 July 1863). This tradition continues to the present day; for all American regiments who perpetuate Civil War units on both sides, the campaign titles always match the older unit's allegiance of service. For example, the **116th Infantry Regiment (Stonewall Brigade)** ( **116 IR** ) of the Virginia Army National Guard carry campaign streamers (the American version of the British Commonwealth concept of battle honours and theatre honours) emblazoned with "FIRST MANASSAS", "SECOND MANASSAS" and "SHARPSBURG".

3) The **Henry Model 1860 rifle** is the first successful lever-action, breech-loading weapon to be field deployed with any Army. First developed in 1860 by **Benjamin Tyler Henry** (1821-98) when he worked for the ancestral organization of Smith  & Wesson, it saw limited service in the Civil War, but became quite popular during the years that followed as American settlers moved west to seek out their destiny; the rifle outfitted members of the **7th Cavalry Regiment** ( **7 CAV** ) at the **Battle of the Little Bighorn** on 25-26 June 1876 when most of the members of the regiment were killed; by then, newer designs had rendered it practically obsolete. A popular saying that developed among Confederate soldiers who confronted regiments outfitted with the Henry was that it was a " _ **rifle that you could load on Sunday and shoot all week long**_ ".

As an aside, the "retired middle school teacher and police officer from Tennessee" mentioned in the narrative is none other than **Hickok45** (real name **Greg Kinman** ), who has been publishing videos concerning firearms on YouTube since 2007.

4) _Harry Potter_ storyline and character notes:

 **Mahōtokoro-gakkō** (literally "Magical Site School") — known commonly in English as the **Mahōtokoro School of Magic** — was one of the eleven internationally-recognized magical basic schools recently introduced in _Pottermore_. It was located on **Minami-iōtō** ("South Sulphur Island") in the **Volcano Islands** ( **Kazan-rettō** ) well south of Tōkyō. In the universe of my stories, since I introduced my own Western-style magical school, the **Dejima School of Wizardry and Witchcraft** ( **Dejima Mahōmajutsu-gakkō** ), in the _Icemaidens_ series, it just became redundant to have Mahōtokoro around, especially when one factored in the _Negima_ universe and the existence of the eight regional **Imperial Magical Commanderies** ( **Teimajutsu-gun** ) who continued to practice the more traditional forms of spellcraft in the country. In the history of this story, Mahōtokoro was closed in 1930 by the order of the "Dark Lady of the Orient", _Mahō-Shōgun_ ("Supreme General of Magic") **Yomigawa Tsukiko** (also known as **Tsukuyomi** ) for the continued support of European dominance over the **International Confederation of Wizards** ( **ICW** ) by its staff and alumni; this would lead to **Tsukuyomi's War of Liberation** from 1939-45, which paralleled the latter years of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific Theatre of World War Two (known in Japan as the **Greater East Asia War** ). Much to the shock of Europeans, almost all Dejima students, staff and alumni threw their support behind Tsukuyomi's move to effectively wreck the ICW's control over Asia and other parts of the World. Because of this, most European ministries always censored information about Dejima and continued to claim that Mahōtokoro was still active...though that practice finally fell by the wayside in the wake of Voldemort's second rebellion in 1997.

In the universe of my stories, a **Magical Executive Order** ( **MEO** ) in the United States is the highest magically enforceable form of law in the country. As the Magical Constitution of the Union administratively subordinates the Department of Magic to the White House concerning all issues that cross the security divide, the sitting President has the reserve power to enforce his/her will on America's magical citizens through an MEO if necessary or if either the Secretary of Magic or the Magical Congress request the President to make use of that power. Traditionally, given the fact that American magicals are quite fanatic about keeping themselves isolated from "no-majs", the various chief executives of the Union have never had real reason to make use of an MEO. There is one glaring exception: **Magical Executive Order 9010** , which was issued by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942 to effective gut out the harsh interpretations of **Rappaport's Law** of 1790 (first introduced in _Pottermore_ ) and allow magicals from Canada such as **Heather Thompkins** to sweep into America to defend the land from Josef von Taserich's **Übermenschen Gruppe** ("Group of Overmen") and the forces of Gellert Grindelwald. It is this power possessed by the "no-maj president" that often has magical conservatives in America constantly on edge; read _Magic and Canada_ concerning the **Panic of 1914** to see what the Magical Congress' response to Woodrow Wilson's racist attitudes was.

 **Pukwudgie House** at Ilvermorny is one of the four constituent houses of America's main wand-magical school. It is named in tribute to a native creature similar to a kobaloi (goblin) who are quite small yet very intelligent, commanding considerable magical power. Normally, they care not to deal with humans, but one pukwudgie — known these days in Ilvermorny history as " **William** " — owed a magical Life Debt to **Isolt Sayre** (one of Ilvermorny's founders and a descendant of Salazar Slytherin through the Gaunt family) after she saved him from an attacking hidebehind. In Ilvermorny school lore, Pukwudgie House represents a wizard's heart; it often is the place where magical healers matriculate when they attend basic classes before moving on to advanced training at place such as Salem or Seven Hills. In my eyes, this would make Pukwudgie House a rough equivalent of Slytherin House in Hogwarts; the lone nature of pukwudgies rather corresponds well to the Slytherin "serve oneself first" attitude that would rise from the drive to see one's ambitions fulfilled.

As an aside, **Isolt Steward** is my creation, but she is a multi-generational descendant of Isolt Sayre, who married a normal man named **James Steward**. Ironically, it was James who suggested one of the Ilvermorny houses be named "Pukwudgie".

5) _Buffy_ character notes:

 **Caridad Ramírez** first appeared in the seventh season's eighteenth episode, "Dirty Girls". Her family name was not given in canon; I used the family name of the actress that portrayed her, Dania Ramírez.

 **Lisa Cabasa** is my name for the unnamed wounded Slayer that first appeared in the seventh season's twenty-first episode, "End of Days". I based her name on the actress that portrayed her, Lisa Ann Cabasa.

6) Translation list: **Onryō** — Vengeful spirit; **Kamiza** — Literally "top seat", this is the uppermost place of honour in a room; **Kamidana** — Literally "god shelf", this is a miniature Shintō shrine that serves as a household altar; **Kanban** — Literally "billboard" and normally applied to a manufacturing scheduling system, this is also the term for a list of rules and the official seal of qualification given to a martial arts training hall to make it legitimate in the eyes of a governing body.

7) **Confederate cush** is a fried hotcake often made of cornmeal; it's sometimes called "cornmeal hash". It's composed of cornmeal mush put into a stew-like mixture of bacon fat and water, then mixed with salted pork and cubed beef to give it flavour before it was fried to boil the water away and turn it into a hash-like mixture.

8) _Battle Royale_ character notes: **Hakufu Kimiko** (the given name is my creation) was Kawada Shōgo's fifth kill; she first was mentioned in the manga story "The Identity of the Heart" (manga episode #100). She was described as a girl who wanted to have sex with Shōgo during their class' run in _The Program_. I expanded on that to make her a child of a broken home who engaged in compensated dating as a way to supplement her allowance; when she was condemned to kill or die, she knew she would die and wanted to go out with a bang. In my list of people in Shōgo's old class, she is Girl #15.


End file.
